Legal Question in Employment Law in Ohio

Fired for visiting a sick family member

Asked for 1 week off to visit mother-in-law who is sick, out of state. Boss would not authorize me leaving, but said I can't tell you you can't go. Husband and I decided to go. Told boss we were going and he said if I did, not to come back to work.

Is this legal? It's a non union factory


Asked on 2/15/01, 11:58 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Rosemarie Welch Rosemarie A. Welch Co., L.P.A.

Re: Fired for visiting a sick family member

Unfortunately, this policy is probably legal based on the facts you gave me.

The circumstances that you listed would probably fall under your company's vacation policy. In other words, you would

need to take vacation in order to go visit a sick mother-in-law out of state. If you did not schedule the time in accordance

with your company's vacation policy, you would basically just not be showing up for work which is grounds for termination in most

companies. Now, if you were taking care of your mother-in-law long-term, for example in your home, you may be eligible for

Family Medical Leave Act. This would be dependent on how long you have been with the company, how many employees the company

has, etc.

The bottom line is that the company is probably not required to give you time off, even without pay, to go out of state to visit a sick mother-in-law.

If you have any questions or need further information, please do not hesitate to contact me at (614) 841-2522.

**This response is provided for informational/educational purposes only. No attorney-client relationship or confidentiality agreement has been established as a result of this response.

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Answered on 4/02/01, 8:04 am


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