I've never had to take one, but... well that's life and here I am. They want me to call some insurance company that's going to either approve or deny my... I guess it's a request... for a medical leave of absence.
What happens if they deny? Kroger fires me because I can't work?
If you request medical leave of absence they can't fire you. If they do you can sue. Google provides many good searches for info. I'd use it. Know your rights so they don't hustle you. There should be a section in your union hand book quoting fmla if not ask your hr individual they'll be more trained in it.
Not sure what state you're in but this provides most of the common information:
All you have to do is get the form from your store AA or a manager for Kroger and the form for the union. Have your doctor fill it out. If they deny your request, don't stress. You are entitled to take Personal Leave of Absence too. Just read your union contract. Atlanta Division - reads "A leave of absence up to thirty (30) days shall be granted to an employee who has had one (1) year of continuous service for reasonable personal reasons but not for the purpose of engaging in gainful employment elsewhere.... The above leave may be extended thirty (30) additional days by mutual agreement between the union and the Employer.
Be careful, before I quit I was unironically told to "sue us" when I asked for a doctor specified Fmla day for a medical issue.
Prior to these I had like 6 sick days in 10 years. It was for a Thursday off to go to the doctor.
It was denied. Ignored and I was told to "sue us" if there were as a problem. The reason they said this is cause they know I don't have the financial means to actually do it.
I also don't have the means to sue if I lost my job and had to take the fmla to court.
During my last followup with the doctors, they said I can work, but I can't lift things (surgery for the broken arm). Now I contacted MetLife, the insurance company that handles Krogers medical leave requests. They had me file a claim for leave and another for short term disability pay.
I've thought about it, and I do not want the disability pay. I want to work, but on a limited schedule (couple days a week), because I have physical therapy to work on my arm, and I still get extra tired from my brain injury, so working a full 40 hours would kill me.
Working a limited schedule, I guess that's still an FMLA matter that MetLife has to be involved in? Or can I work that out directly with the store managers?
During my last followup with the doctors, they said I can work, but I can't lift things (surgery for the broken arm). Now I contacted MetLife, the insurance company that handles Krogers medical leave requests. They had me file a claim for leave and another for short term disability pay.
I've thought about it, and I do not want the disability pay. I want to work, but on a limited schedule (couple days a week), because I have physical therapy to work on my arm, and I still get extra tired from my brain injury, so working a full 40 hours would kill me.
Working a limited schedule, I guess that's still an FMLA matter that MetLife has to be involved in? Or can I work that out directly with the store managers?
Also to add, I've already been gone for over two weeks now since my accident. So, technically, I guess the clock on the medical leave started two weeks ago?
What is the Met Life phone number specifically for Kroger employees to use in order to request the Medical Leave of Absence Forms and Loss of Time? The number my daughter has does not work (recording "out of service"). Any info would be greatly appreciated!!!
What is the Met Life phone number specifically for Kroger employees to use in order to request the Medical Leave of Absence Forms and Loss of Time? The number my daughter has does not work (recording "out of service"). Any info would be greatly appreciated!!!
The number I used to contact Met Life is 1-888-343-6886 which is specifically for Kroger employees. I had to chase a manager around to get the phone number (lol).
Thanks for posting the number. Met Life probably has more than one phone number, but I will definitely try all suggested phone numbers until I find the one that works for me. I appreciate everybody's input.
I was just told to call Met Life at 1-888-343-6886. The manager did not give me a form and nobody said anything about contacting the union. Called the Met Life number just recently and got a service claim # and a FLMA #. Have to have surgery at the end of this month. Also, the Met Life Rep sent me (by email, because I did not want to wait for "snail" mail) the necessary medical forms for my doctor to fill out and an authorization to be completed online Asked the rep about the "Loss of Time" form but she said that she only did the Leave of Absence forms and assigned claim #s. She said that I might want to ask the case manager about that (that is when a case manager is assigned to my case). My understanding is that it takes at least 24 hours for a new case to officially show up in their system. ************** Hopefully, I am going about this the right way. Kroger does not really outline the procedure for employees. If they do, it is well hidden. Any pointers or suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you.
