July 13, 2001
John F. Kennedy Federal Building
Room525
Boston, MA 02203
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am an employee of RCN in Springfield, MA. I recently sent this letter to my Human Resources Director:
I am running into issues with taking sick days for myself since I no longer have any personal days. Michael Parent, my significant other, has been out on Long Term Disability. Within the past few months he has gone through multiple kidney stones, resulting in him either having to go to the ER, or just recently, having a lithotripsy done. He is not in contact with his relatives for personal reasons that I will not disclose. Therefore, I am left as the only person who can drive him to the ER or to the hospital to have a procedure done.
An example of this was on Monday, July 9th. Michael became extremely ill, vomiting literally seven times in two hours, and had diarrhea. This was around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. I had already called out for a half sick day. I drove him to Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford Springs, CT, where he was given medication for nausea and had a number of tests run on him (CAT scan, urine sample, etc). We ended up being there approximately 8 or 9 hours since we arrived, and when I heard it was 8pm – I called here to take another half sick day.
My concern is that since I no longer have personal days left, and I have already used one vacation day as an emergency, I am at a loss for what to do next should he become ill again. I do not even have enough sick days left for myself, should anything happen to me. This is a serious concern for me, and for Michael. This seems to happen at least a couple times each month, and (obviously) it is unexpected.
Please let me know what I can do about this. I do not want anything to happen as a result of my taking days off for medical emergencies with Michael, nor do I want anything to happen to him if I am at work and no one can get him to the hospital. There is about half a year left, and anything can happen within that time period. Thank you in advance.
I received the following response from the HR Director:
Hi - unfortunately, Family Medical Leave Act does not cover this as you are not married to Mike. The time missed will be considered an occurrence under the attendance guidelines - The personal days are given for situations like this - In your case they are gone - Vacation needs to be scheduled in advance which I realize is not possible. You may want to speak with Kara in regards to your vacation. I am not guaranteeing anything can be done - let me know – thanks
I looked up information regarding the FMLA. I do see that “spouse” was defined, which I assume means husband or wife. I believe my situation is unique, however. My significant other, Michael Parent, is also employed through RCN. He has numerous medical problems such as Crohn’s Disease, toxemia, multiple kidney stones, and most recently came down with gastroenteritis (as described in my letter above) by catching something called Rotavirus through drinking water.
In my HR Director’s reply, he said I am not covered by the FMLA, as I am not married. I went to the following website:
http://www.dol.gov/dol/esa/public/regs/compliance/whd/whdfs28.htm
I see nothing here about marriage, unless I am looking in the wrong place:
EMPLOYEE ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible for FMLA benefits, an employee must:
(1) Work for a covered employer;
(2) Have worked for the employer for a total of 12 months;
(3) have worked at least 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months; and
(4) work at a location in the United States or in any territory or possession of the United States where at least 50 employees are employed by the employer within 75 miles.
I have lived with Michael since June of 1998. I am not married to him, but he has been out of work for over a year, seen NUMEROUS doctors and been in the hospital NUMEROUS times. I am the only person here for him, and the only person who has taken him to the hospital, Dr.'s, etc. You could say I am his provider/caretaker. Documentation can be provided for all medical visits and emergencies.
I don't *think* my employer is trying to deny or restrain me from using the FMLA, but he didn't provide me with any resources or documentation as to why, except that he said I am not married to Mike.
I have been told there may be a common-law marriage rule in my state, and I am trying to find information regarding this. I am confused as to what state I need to look in. I have worked in MA since 1998, lived there until 1999, moved to CT in 1999, and lived here since then, all the while still working in MA.
Please respond back to me, as I do not know what to do. If I take any more days off from work because Michael has a medical emergency, I can be fired through no fault of my own.
Sincerely,
Suzanne