My boss is acting like he won't let me leave to be with my wife while she's in labor

Nailed it. Unfortunately, FMLA isn't your answer, but you could see if the doctor could try to delay things until your day off/weekend, and then resolve the problem from both sides hopefully.

 

I am nearly 100% that the LAW states your employer CANNOT withhold your right to leave during a family medical issue. And as stated above, you can also take leave as a father for maternity purposes. Your employer does not have to pay you, but cannot deny you. I agree just don't leave, but inform your immediate supervisor the reason you are leaving and then go.

 

Four little letters ensure that there is nothing they can do to stop you. FMLA !!! If they try all you need to do is call a lawyer and you can own the company.

 

Thank y'all for your input. Most of you tend to see things the way I do and it's good to know. I told my wife to send someone to the job site I'm working at to get to me if she goes into labor that way I know for sure they won't try to make me miss the phone call. If I have to quit this job I could always find another. This is the 4th job I've had over the past 15 months that pays over $65k a year. Most of the time I've got laid off, but I did quit one good one because you had to travel the country working on different job sites and be gone for long months. Maybe it won't lead down to that....hopefully you guys were right about them just joking with me. I'm still an apprentice so perhaps it's just a joke they're trying to pull on me.

Thanks everyone again.

 

As I said before, please consult with your HR before you assume all your rights etc...the guys above are right, your employer cannot hold you during a medical emergency, and they also cannot hold you if you want to go buy a gatorade...but that does not mean you will have a job when you get back either...take emotion out of it, and consult with HR.

 

I must have missed your original post.

I have consulted the HR. He said "I can't promise you anything. I don't imagine your boss would try to prevent you from being present at the birth of your first born child, but you never know. It would probably be hard to get a hold of you anyway".

I don't qualify for rights were I was just hired on Thursday. In a way I think that is dumb. IMO, you should have rights whether it's your first hour on the job or 20th year on the job. You should have the right to attend to a family emergency without seniority in a company.

I'll update and let everyone know how it went.

 

Take the time needed... Let the chips fall where they may. I would not be thinking about or threatening lawsuits or any such thing as that. He is probably just one of those guys that wears his emotions on his sleeve and doesn't know how to give encouragement or be excited for someone else. He's probably trying to figure out how to replace you for a few days without shutting down the work of other employees. He'll figure it all out and come through when the time comes. Don't let him steal your joy and excitement. Congratulations... by the way... being a dad is AWESOME!!!!

 

Read before you begin threatening your employer with a lawyer:

Benefits for Employees Mandated by the LawTo qualify for the FMLA mandate, a worker must be employed by a business with 50or more employees within a 75-mile radius of his or her worksite, or a public agency, including schools and state, local, and federal employers (the 50-employee threshold does not apply to public agency employees and local educational agencies). He or she must also have worked for that employer for at least 12 months (not necessarily consecutive) and 1,250 hours within the last 12 months.The FMLA mandates unpaid, job-protected leave for up to 12 weeks a year:

to care for a new child, whether for the birth of a son or daughter, or for the adoption or placement of a child in foster care;
to care for a seriously ill family member (spouse, son, daughter, or parent) (Note: Son/daughter has been clarified by the Department of Labor to mean a child under the age of 18 or a child over the age of 18 with a mental or physical disability as defined by the American Disabilities Act, which excludes among other conditions, pregnancy and post-partum recovery from childbirth)[5];
to recover from a worker’s own serious illness;
to care for an injured service member in the family; or
to address qualifying exigencies arising out of a family member’s deployment.
The FMLA further requires employers to provide for eligible workers:

The same group health insurance benefits, including employer contributions to premiums, that would exist if the employee were not on leave.
Restoration to the same position upon return to work. If the same position is unavailable, the employer must provide the worker with a position that is substantially equal in pay, benefits, and responsibility.
Protection of employee benefits while on leave. An employee is entitled to reinstatement of all benefits to which the employee was entitled before going on leave.
Protection of the employee to not have their rights under the Act interfered with or denied by an employer.
Protection of the employee from retaliation by an employer for exercising rights under the Act.

 

I would never threaten the employer with a lawyer or anything. If I have to lose the job to make it to see my son then I'll do it. I could always find another job with the experience that I have. I've told my wife directions to where I'll be working and I said after they call and alert me, then send someone up to get me right after that.

 

Very good... You had already stated such a position.
1 Cor 6.

 

Whatever you do, don't look when the head is coming out. You can't unsee that.

 

It's quite the sticky situation you appear to be in here. According to everything I've found on both federal and state level (WV) there is no provision that protects you possible repercussions from taking an unexcused leave of absense from work. As many have pointed out, you don't qualify for FMLA due to your lack of time on the job. WV has a "Parental Leave Act" which does provide for up to 12 weeks off work due to the birth of a child, however that is only available to public sector employees who have been employed for 12 weeks prior to taking leave. So to put it simply - if you take off and your work has not approved, they can very well fire you for it and there's nothing you can do to stop them.

My first thought here is that this is something you should have brought up during the interview and hiring process before accepting the job. If it was going to be that big of an issue for your boss, you may have thought otherwise before taking the job. Or you would have arranged a start date that was after the birth of your child, not the day before. Not harping on you, but it seems like some poor planning on your part.

My 2nd thought is that your boss should try to do something to accomodate for your situation. Even if you just started, they could afford to give you a couple days off to be there for your wife and the birth of your first child. Although depending on the size of the company, their policies, and the type of person your boss is (which we're seeing already) I can understad why they would be reluctant to do so. This isn't exactly getting off on the right foot with a new employee.

My wife would murder me as soon as she got out of the hospital if I was working while our kid was being born, so I know what my choice would be.

 

Think Justin pretty much nailed it.
Also if you have not actually started there yet are you technically an employee ?

I think I would go now and have a heart to heart with the boss (maybe even his boss) and try to work something out before hand.

Not letting you miss work for the birth is bad enough . Telling you they might not even come tell you is outrageous. Kind of makes a person wonder what employees mean to them and would make me question the companies concern for the employees on other matters as well such as safety.

 

I think Justin's point about fleshing this out prior to hire is pretty much where you went wrong here.

Just asking, but if you leave the job site, what happens to what you were working on? Where does that leave the rest of the crew? Weird question but are you on a fracking crew or something of that nature?

 

After that it's pretty simple. If you need the job to provide for said child, then keeping is what you have to do. If you don't, then don't

 

If your boss isn't going to let you leave to see your first born son then the job is not worth having IMO!!! I get it's a good job but it's just a sign of things to come there... That's just ridiculous let us know what happens???

 

Sounds like he did this when he was hired. Maybe not the best communication but he did have a pretty good visual aid with him. Ref:[Well, I introduced my wife to my boss the day I got hired to show she's pregnant.]

 

Bring your pregnant wife to work on the day you get hired isn't exactly giving them warning that you may need to leave.

I have to assume that just like any typical hiring process there was an interview conducted before he was actually on-site with his wife. During that process you'd think it would have come up that "Oh by the way, if you hire me I may need to take off some time the next day. Is that going to be a problem?" Putting your boss on the spot the day you're hired by bringing a pregnant woman to work isn't exactly the best way to handle that situation.

Just to clarify - I'm on his side here. My wife is preggo and ready to pop out our first kid in about 5 weeks and I fully intend on being there, whether my job is on the line or not. Some things in life are more important than your job, and the birth of your child is certainly one of them. I just feel like the situation could have been handled a little better from the start, and possibly avoided the pickle that he's in now, that's all.

Live and learn I suppose. Hope everything goes well and both baby and mom are healthy!

 

Actually bringing family members to a job interview is usually seen as a "what not to do." Congratulations on your own incoming joy and you are absolutely correct that being there is a no brainer.

 

I've had a couple of people tell me that haha....I'll probably try to turn my head but I'll probably end up getting caught in the moment and witnessing it all.

I think you're misunderstanding what I said. I haven't been to work yet, I only brought her to the HR department the day I picked up the things for my drug test; it wasn't an interview or anything like that.

Bringing her shows them visually that she was pregnant. After all, the person I brought her in front of was only the HR guy, I've only spoken to the boss on the phone a couple of times. I've never met him before.

Nope, no interview for this position. He brought me in to scan copies of my certifications and then the next day I was drug tested. I think they only interview inexperienced people at this particular place. I did mention it the day of the interview though but the HR guy said he didn't know what to tell me. Keep in mind, I hadn't actually met the boss yet.

The HR guy said "getting a hold of you would pose the biggest thread. I don't imagine anyone would try to prevent you from being present at the birth of your first born, but I really can't answer that and will mention it to the boss".

The job I have can be pretty much operated at any time. It's not a production or operation specific, it only requires one person and it's part of the maintenance work.

I found a solution I'm pretty sure. I got in touch with a friend in the same line of work and he was laid off, so I brought him to the HR guy and got him hired on with the company as well. He said the day my wife goes into labor he will gladly fill in for me.

Another plus that's came out of this is Tuesday my wife will be induced by the Doctor so I will know ahead of time what exactly will be going on.

Same goes to you. Is this your first?