On Complete Bedrest and STD - Can Work Call Me with Questions?

[Lori1604]

As of 11/19, I am on complete bedrest under doctor's orders due to pregnancy-induced hypertension. I am positive that at least 50% of my high blood pressure was completely work stress-related.

I am due with our first child tomorrow (doesn't look like she's coming anytime soon, but that is a whole other thread ).

In the months leading up to this, my boss has asked me several times if it would be okay for her to call me at home/on my cell while I am out on maternity leave if she has questions about my clients. I never gave her a concrete answer, because I believe that maternity leave is leave, I am entitled to it, and I should not be thinking about work while tending to a newborn. Of course, I would normally have more of a sense of goodwill and cooperation with her, but she has ALWAYS called me at home/on my cell when I've called out sick on other occasions with stupid questions that she could honestly figure out on her own. (Can you tell I don't really care for my boss?). I am tired of her not respecting my boundaries. When she is out sick, I don't call her at home with questions. I believe it should work both ways.

Anyway, I got an email from a friend/coworker this morning warning me that I might be hearing from my boss on my home phone later today. She has a few questions about a new client of ours who I had been trying to meet with her about prior to my leave, but she kept putting it off. This is a client who we've been trying to set up since FEBRUARY and she has not taken part in any of it, despite my repeated attempts to get her involved. I guess she received an angry email from the client recently and this has motivated her to work on it.

My question (if you were able to follow along until now, sorry!) is this: I am collecting STD through my employer. Legally, does my boss have the right to call me at home with work-related questions while I am on STD? I have heard others that have the opinion that it is illegal for my boss to contact me while I am collecting STD with anything job-related. Does anyone know anything about this?

I am in Pennsylvania, if that makes any difference. I can't find anything pertinent to this on Google.

Man, this really irks me!!!

Thanks for reading!

[LynnS6]

Legally, I have no idea.

Practically? I'd screen her calls. If you need your job back after the baby is born, you can't afford to make her too mad. But, you know, it's awfully hard to get to the phone when you've got a newborn, and so if you can only return her phone calls at 10 pm every third day, she might learn to be more self-sufficient.

[blizzard_babe]

I have no clue about legal issues... but does your boss GET that you are on early leave for HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE?! And, like, dealing with stressful clients is... you know... stressful? Legal or no, it seems dumb.

[SuzyLee]

Based on my last leave, my impression is that it is not legal to *require* you to respond to anything work related. WhenI left on leave my boss gave me a whole spiel about how I was not expected to check email, VM, etc etc, and they actually deactivated my badge during my leave!

[Qestia]

Not required... but probably a good idea if you don't want to burn your bridges. What I did was set some limits: I told work I would be available by phone and email every Thursday afternoon. What usually happened is that they would have questions Monday and Tuesday, but figure out the answers themselves by the time Thursday rolled around.

[stik]

"Unfortunately, at the moment, I am unable to work because of the seriousness of my medical condition. I will let you know when my doctor says it is safe for me to do more."

You're on STD because of high blood pressure. Your work will have to find a way to soldier on without you. If it's absolutely *vital* your office should arrange for you to have a single phone conversation with the person who will be taking over your work in which you inform that person of the status of your projects. Regular phone consultation is an inappropriate expectation for someone who is on a disability leave.

[GuildJenn]

I'm with Qestia - if you want to come back to the job in good standing I don't think it's a great idea to totally refuse the calls. Also although everyone is different, I think you might enjoy the occasional reminder that you have a brain during the newborn phase.

I understand you're frustrated and I would be too, but this is my feeling - if you're going back to the job with a baby, you will need every ounce of goodwill you can get from your boss. There will likely be days your socks barely match, your brain barely functions, and someone's always got a cold. I personally would not make this the hill to die on if you can avoid a confrontation at this time, unless you don't care about the job.

However I do think setting boundaries and limits is fine. If you truly believe it's a threat to your health to take the call while on bedrest, then say so up front. (BTW congrats on making it to your due date.) Set a specific afternoon when you will be available for questions, or ask her to use email so that you can answer when you have a minute.

[GoestoShow]

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Edited by GoestoShow - 1/3/11 at 12:19pm

[meandmine]

Originally Posted by GuildJenn

if you're going back to the job with a baby, you will need every ounce of goodwill you can get from your boss. There will likely be days your socks barely match, your brain barely functions, and someone's always got a cold. I personally would not make this the hill to die on if you can avoid a confrontation at this time, unless you don't care about the job.

Can't find the "Yeah that" symbol, but I agree with the above. Daily phone calls ... no. The occasional call ... hey, you are valuable to them. Nice.

M

[stik]

I absolutely agree with people who are saying you don't want to burn bridges at your job, but with some fairly significant caveats.

You are on STD because your medical condition is so serious that it is dangerous for you to work. Therefore, you are burning through your benefits. I don't know the details of your workplace's STD policy, but if I had to use STD, I would be earning substantially less than I do if I show up and work. In fact, iirc, my workplace's STD policy means that I don't get salary or benefits. It just means that I intend to return within a specified period, and they will offer me my job back. I have to pay COBRA. I hope yours is better.

I think an employer is entitled to some support from an employee who has to leave, especially if they have to leave on short notice. But they are not entitled to regular consultation on work issues. Unless they pay for it. If they want to offer you some hours at a per diem rate, and if doing so doesn't impact your eligibility for STD or endanger your health, it would be a good idea to take it. If they want an accounting of the status of your projects for your replacement, they should thank their lucky stars that you're home on bed rest instead of inaccessible in an ICU somewhere.

You have to decide what's best for you, but if I were out of work because of blood pressure issues there is no earthly way I could be induced to consult with my supervisor about an angry client. I would screen the call, and then respond to the message by leaving a voice mail after work hours.

[Ellien C]

Originally Posted by GuildJenn

There will likely be days your socks barely match, your brain barely functions, and someone's always got a cold.

True dat!

I once went to work wearing 2 different shoes and one was a sling back! And people noticed. We had a big dept meeting that day.

I'd set some boundaries - like returning calls every 3rd day at 10 pm or agreeing to one time a week or so, but I'd try not to burn the goodwill if you want to go back to work. I know it sucks but it's what people do. Very "american" workoholic work-ethic.

[Lori1604]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone.

What I decided to do was this: I responded to her voicemail message by sending her an email through our work email system, which I can access remotely from my home computer. I sent it at 11:15 p.m., lol.

I answered her two questions by directing her to the two or three people internally who would actually be able to help her. I also mentioned that bedrest is not as "glamourous" as it sounds, as I am basically confined to either my bed or the sofa for most hours of the day, and that I am facing either induction or a c-section in the very near future.

My real problem with her contacting me is that the two issues she had questions about were issues that I had been trying to get HER input on since the summer, and she simply never responded to my many followups. She also told my coworker/temporary replacement at work that it was just "easier" for her to contact me at home. The answers I gave her really were non-answers; I just redirected her to people who WOULD be able to help her. She is just too lazy to do any legwork.

Again, thanks for the feedback! I definitely won't be burning any bridges, but at the same time, I don't want to "teach" her that it's A-OK to call me whenever she has the most elementary of questions when someone else can certainly help her.

[springbride]

OP,
I can really empathize to your situation. My boss talked me into leaving later than I should have and coming back to work earlier than I should have. But I made sure to let her know that I was doing HER the favor. And used it as a time to get in some extra time off for the Holidays