Legal Question in Employment Law in Florida

Re: Terminated and benefits denied

The EEOC will not be of any help to you, nor was there any legal reason to file a Charge with them, unless you believe an action was taken against you because of your race, age, religion, national origin, sex/gender, and/or disability. With respect to disability, if you believe your employer took an action against you because of a disability, in order to be covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, you must have a permanent disability that significantly impaired one or more major life functions. As such, a short-term disability such as an illness or broken leg, etc. will not qualify.

Moreover, under the Family and Medical Leave Act, your employer is only required to provide you with 12 weeks of leave. On the first day after this 12 weeks has elapsed, if you fail to report to work, your employer can, technically speaking, terminate your employment legally.

If, however, your employer terminated you because of your exercise of rights protected by FMLA--i.e., in retaliation for exercising those rights, you may have a claim under the FMLA.

As to your STD or LTD, you must file an internal appeal with the insurance carrier before any other action could legally be taken. If your STD and/or LTD are/were denied in an arbitrary and capricious manner--very high standard to meet--you may have a claim under ERISA against your employer and/or the insurance carrier.