Legal Question in Medical Leave in Oregon

Re: boss told me to find other care for my sick kids

Your need for leave to care for your ill children may qualify as protected family medical leave under state or federal law, or both. To qualify for such leave, your employer must have at least 25 (state) or 50 (federal) employees, and you must have been employed at the time of the leave for at least 180 days (state) or a year (federal) with sufficient hours, generally about a half time schedule. If you qualify and your employer qualifies, then the leave itself must qualify. To qualify, the leave must be to care for a "seriously ill" child, which includes situations where, for example, because of a serious health condition, the family member is unable to care for his or her own basic medical, hygienic, or nutritional needs or safety, or is unable to transport himself or herself to the doctor, etc. The term also includes providing psychological comfort and reassurance which would be beneficial to a child with a serious health condition who is receiving inpatient or home care. Parents provide far greater psychological comfort and reassurance to a seriously ill child than others not so closely tied to the child. In some cases there is no one other than the child's parents to care for the child.

If your leave was protected as qualifying family medical leave, the employer may not retaliate against you for taking it. Simple rudeness, though, probably is not enough to constitute retaliation. Were your employer to cut your hours (or take other adverse actions against you such as demotion or termination) it would be retaliating against you and in violation of the law.

As you can see, whether the employer is violating the law in any given situation usually requires a careful analysis of all the facts and circumstances, something only a lawyer experienced in employment law usually is able to provide. I urge you to contact an experienced lawyer to assist you if the employer ends up retaliating against you for use of the leave.

The above does not constitute legal opinion and is offered for the purposes of discussion only. The law differs in every jurisdiction, and you should not rely on any opinion except that of an attorney you have retained, who has a professional duty to advise you after being fully informed of all the pertinent facts and who is familiar with the applicable law.