A few weeks ago, I had a heart attack, died and defibbed back to life. I'm lucky to be alive but not through any efforts of my workplace. My heart now pumps 25% of the blood when a normal person pumps 60% of their blood. I'm tired all of the time and need a nap after every meal.
Cardiologist says I should have three months of rest.
My doctor says I should have three months of rest.
HR thinks I should already be back in the office. They want super detailed paperwork about my condition and expect me to be ready for work after one month maximum.
My current paperwork says I can't “push, pull, lift or carry” and since I do office work, that shouldn't interfere with my job. The company nurse had a stint installed on a Wednesday and was back to work on Monday so that's what they are basing my return on. He didn't die or suffer heart damage; he just had the stint installed.
In the US, we have the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) which allows us to take 12 weeks of unpaid time to recover from a heart attack or other problem. I was reading through the documentation when I realized something.
The company doesn't have to pay me. THEY COULD but they won't. Companies say they care about you but the moment you're broken they are ready to ignore/dump you. Fuck American Greed.
I'm applying for short term disability but I'm waiting on better paperwork. Something that reads, “No work or stress of any sort.” In the meanwhile, I'm living off of my savings and have maxed out my out of pocket medical expense so I'm okay financially.
Also, HR wants ALL of my paperwork but when they denied my disability claim, they had the company nurse call me. No paperwork from them so I told them that from now on, everything needs to be in writing. When HR asked why I only said two words.
“Legal reasons.”
Finally, I can't drive because I'm wearing a personal defibulator. But because “driving is not part of my job”, work expects me to come into the office five days a week even though we've proven (during Covid) that I could do nearly all of my job from home.
HR is not your friend.