Mostly a lurker first time poster, I’m on mobile so sorry for formatting issues…
I work for a city government and just changed jobs from a part time 15 hour a week to a “part time” 30 hour job plus benefits. I’ve been working for the city nearly 2 years so I’m well past my intro periods and should be eligible for assistance programs….
This month I suddenly got massively sick, at first thought it was Covid so was covered under our policies, or so I thought… once it turned out it was my wisdom tooth I was told the sick policies didn’t cover it, and I would have to exhaust all my leave before going on leave without pay, and that because I “didn’t meet the hours requirement for the last year” I don’t qualify for FMLA. I also apparently didn’t qualify for our sick leave pool because it “wasn’t a catastrophic illness”. Fast forward a week, I got hospitalized and SUDDENLY I’m eligible for the sick leave pool… BUT WAIT it only kicks in once you’ve missed 80 hours of work, and oh wait, you have to get a doctors certificate saying why it’s catastrophic, and oh wait, because you don’t qualify for FMLA you can still be fired because you’re “at will”. This situation has me so frustrated because it’s another example of HR departments trying to screw employees like me. It’s ridiculous that I’m somehow technically ineligible for every single program that is supposed to be in place to help people in my situation but the attitude I’m getting from my HR is “sucks for you”. I’m lucky my manager and department director are working with me but I shouldn’t have to rely on good graces I should have protections, and because I work for a city I’m limited in the avenues available to complain/affect change.