Time off work

Well I was scheduled to have my surgery on Dec 12th. Two weeks ago I emailed my boss and asked if I would be granted the time off even if I didn't have the PTO to cover my full leave. She never responded to me. Well I went ahead and scheduled my surgery and my education classes. Again I emailed her and let her know what that I would need a week off after surgery and one day off for my classes. Right after I sent that email I was called into the office with my manager and assistant director and was told that I can not have the time off. That I would have to have all the PTO in my bank for the surgery before they could give me the time off. I'm really upset. Mainly because I'll have to wait until after the first of the year and I'll have to pay my $500 deductible- which went up $200 and my $1500 out of pocket all over again. Secondly when I walked in the first thing she said to me was " I wasn't ignoring your first email" well in my world if you read something and don't respond in two weeks that's ignoring. My question is I can't use FMLA because I haven't been employed with them for a full year. However it seems that I should be able to take the time unpaid. It's for a medical procedure and you would think that for medical reasons I should be granted the time off.  To top things off I work in the business office  for the hospital I'm having the surgery in.  Please if anyone has any advice I'm all ears!! Thanks!

I would see if you could talk with someone in your human resources dept. That is messed up! Sorry.

Absolutely talk to your human resource office. I used not only vacation time but also medical leave time. Youre given your office way more than a month's notice! They should be grateful. A lot of people look at this like some silly cosmetic operation. This procedure is not purely cosmetic and should not be treated that way. If you needed to have triple bypass surgery I'm sure they wouldnt make you reschedule that. Talk to HR and start doing some research!

I am a nurse in a large hospital......we have a union. Do you? The other thing you might want to look into is if your hospital had a donated leave program. I am sure they might. Where I work people donate their leave all the time for people who need it. I would also check to see what the policy is to borrow advance sick leave.  Do you have any  comorbidities? If so you could always try and get your doctor to write you a note stating how important this is for you to have. Just something to think about.

sorry you're having a tough time. definitely talk to HR. you should still qualify for a regular medical leave... even if you cannot do the FMLA since you haven't been there one year. also find out what the regular time off policy is? it's really not up to them if you have enough PTO to pay yourself or not... that is not generally how it works. if you ask within the perameters of the policy for time off, the reason is none of their business & you getting paid or not shouldn't be either. have you tried to tell them that it MUST be done this year due to finances/insurance coverage?! i'd definitely get your union involved if there is one... and certainly HR - it wouldn't hurt to look into your company policies/procedures so you have the info you need. i guess maybe they have funny policies... but certainly get the info for yourself, don't just take their word for it. maybe you should also consider going to a higher level of management - go above their heads if they're dealing with things this way. it's not very appropriate for your first e-mail to have gone unanswered... and to be called in as if you'd done something wrong is also less than appropriate. i know my union would have big issues with either of those actions.... but any workplace should have fair practices. best wishes!! don't give up!