So i apologize for how long this story is. Im not sure id have the patience to read a post this long most days… but i need advice.
I just lost my job and health insurance today. I live and work in Ohio. I started this job the last week in September. I got on their health care plan.
the last week in October on my way to work, i had an accident, and fractured my hip. My job was physical so i needed some time off. Initially they said they wanted to talk about me maybe coming back on light duty, pending what the orthopedic specialist said. He cleared me for light duty. They decided they didn't want me there in light duty for liability purposes. Made sense. They said over the phone that they wanted me to come back to work when i was able too. i hadn't worked there long enough to technically qualify for medical leave. But i could stay on the company insurance. I was lead to believe id have a job when healed in 6 weeks, so i didnt bother applying for remote work. Instead i focused on healing.
Then last Monday i received an email stating that i had until the next monday to let them know if i would be ready to return to work by the 2nd week in December; and if i could not, they said their insurance wouldnt allow them to keep me on, and theyd have to terminate my employment. I moved up my next drs appointment a few days and he said im mostly healed up and can indead go back to work with no restrictions by mid December. This wasn't a surprise, because this is where i was expected to be in the healing process. I informed my employer of this projected time table back when I 1st saw my doc. I met the deadline, and based of what was said in the email last week i had reason to believe that i still had a job and insurance, and they were looking forward to me coming back to work. Two days after their deadline, i finally get a call from my manager, and they said unfortunately they no longer have a spot for me. My insurance and employment were both terminated today, officially via email as well.
Ohio being an at will state, they can legally fire me for any reason baring discrimination. But i was strung along under false pretenses. I should have been terminated when this happened, or when ever they actually filled my spot. I met their official deadline for me returning to work. So it seems that deadline was imaginary. That my spot was filled , and they were betting on me not being able to to meet their time table, because my follow up dr appointment wasnt scheduled until after their deadline. If itd happened like that, id have been bummed, but not realize id been fooled.
Ive read over workers comp, and disability, wrongful termination , and medical leave laws. I dont qualify so far as i can tell. I'll talk with a lawyer tomorrow. Im wondering about suing them for lost wages. For promising me a job if i was able to work soon, and then telling me after a month im fired. I would have had a job a month ago if i new i needed to get an new one. Now im broke, jobless, and uninsured and i wouldn't be in this situation had they been upfront about my employment status.
The icing on cake is that its a non profit that helps low income peoples. I care about the work they do. But its fucked up that my brief employment left me in need of the kind of aid that they and other organizations provide to people struggling to make ends meet. Furthermore more i took the job when the other jobs in my radar all payed better, because i care about the work they do.
Im looking for any advice or links for further reading. Thanks for listening. I hope you are having a nice day.
Cliff notes: Injured outside of work, couldn't work. Was told i could expect a job when healed. Month later doc says im good to work again. They said your fired. Why didnt they fire me when my position was filled? Do i have any grounds for legal action?
Thanks for your time.