Penalized for not contacting abusive employer while on FMLA leave

[mcmath512]

I'm looking for an attorney who is willing to look deeply at what happened to me to determine if anything illegal was done. The employer terminated me while on FMLA leave for depression for not contacting them. The sent a USPS letter at the beginning of my leave, a time when I was most fragile and distancing from them to help me get better. Now, I'm penalized for exhibiting traits of depression and not responding to a single request. The employer is not held to the same strict standards and terminated my insurance without telling me and various other callous and cruel actions.

[shodan95]

I'm not an attorney nor have I experienced what you're going through, but generally speaking, FMLA does provide protection from termination while on leave. I have used FMLA and was told that by HR. What was the request in the letter? It could be that whatever they were requesting had to do with your leave request, which does have to go through HR. If I remember correctly, I had to go through HR to put in the leave request and sign some paperwork.

[mcmath512 in reply to shodan95]

They were asking me to contact them, but I didn't read it until later and just could not interact with them. I needed distance since the job was the source. They only directed me once in a letter sent when I first went on leave and was in pretty bad shape.

[Hidden in reply to mcmath512]

I'm not an attorney either. I went through the same thing, but ultimately I resigned because I felt I needed to care for myself plus other side reasons. Your situation is different. I agree with the previous person about HR wanted to contact you about details to your FMLA as it may not have contained enough info of Incapacity that the doctor needed to add in. I used to work for a hospital office where the FMLAs were processed. I don't know which state you're in so there maybe some state regulations in play, since your HR can't access your medical information directly they would have needed to contact you. Still you'd think they would have sent a correspondence for follow up info. Not sure you're up to it but if you are you can check with your state and the U.S. department of Labor web sites. Also you might be able to find some free legal aid in your area. Just some thoughts and ideas.