Hi! Looking for some advice on a situation that came up unexpectedly with my husband's job. He had an outpatient surgery last week that had significant complications, and was unable to return to work on Monday of this week as was planned.
TL;DR: HR is making weird threats and we're trying to prepare for either him being fired or him quitting. Need advice on health insurance especially, I'm disabled but not receiving benefits.
Here's what happened:
- Husband talked to HR in mid-July about going on leave for the first week of August. Everything was fine, HR just said he would need to submit an FMLA form by mid-August. They said if he didn't get that form submitted, it would become an attendance issue.
- Surgery happened last week, I went to pick him up and they said they had to do more than expected and he would be in significant pain while recovering. They gave us the surgeon's personal cell phone number in case of issues. They also prescribed an opioid when most people get by with OTC painkillers.
- Husband had taken off the last half of last week and planned to return this week.
- Sunday evening, he has a mild fever and is still in a lot of pain. I encourage him to take the next day off, his job requires a lot of something that specifically worsens his pain. Same thing the next day. He has been in communication with his boss (having me type the messages). Boss said husband needs to tell HR. Husband has me say he will, but again, he is on strong painkillers and also without his ADHD meds. He assumed it could wait until he was back at work.
- Husband returns to work today and receives a call from HR, who is irate. They had left voicemails late last week and early this week that my husband hadn't checked due to the pain and medication, assuming that it could be dealt with when he was back at work. HR is upset about this–I encourage my husband to reiterate the pain. HR laughs it off and says that if he could text his boss (again, he was doing that through me) he could talk to someone from HR about when he was returning.
- HR claims they had “no idea” when he would be back, despite husband telling his boss the day he would return. HR says they might be able to submit payroll if husband gets doctor's note in TODAY. He calls the surgeon in a hurry, they get a note submitted within 30 minutes, HR calls back and says they will still not be able to pay my husband on payday. The work he did in this period will be added to the next paycheck.
- We live paycheck to paycheck because I can't work and my husband, like most people, is severely underpaid for his education, experience, and position. We are considered a low-income household.
- HR was making vague threats during the entire call about “potential attendance issues”, “causing problems downstream,” and the consequences of not listening to HR voicemails immediately. I was listening to both calls and it 100% sounded like a power trip instead of a legitimate issue, but you know how HR is.
So here's what we're trying to prepare for:
- Husband either being fired or quitting due to (gestures above)
- Being without work and pay for a while, but somewhat more significantly, being without health insurance–I'm disabled and have a life threatening condition and seek regular care. Luckily this is my week of multiple doctor's appointments so I'll be okay there. Should I try to get a few months' worth of medication before husband quits or gets fired?
- We're looking on healthcare.gov to try to find an affordable plan. How long does it take to apply, be approved, and kick in?
- Husband has been in the job search for SEVERAL months now and has had several interviews that haven't moved forward. Any tips or leads on remote web development positions?
- Is what HR did allowed? Can they imply threats like that?
- Tips on surviving on a missed paycheck? We've been scraping by for a while anyway and doing all the things rich people think will save people from poverty, so I'm specifically looking for potential resources if possible! I'm a mutual aid organizer so I may also be able to tap into that network!