The Sick Day Option

Can your company establish an attendance policy? Yes. Are you allowed sick days?
Yes, in most cases. What are the guidelines in this situation?
The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 requires employers with more than 50 em-
ployees to provide a certain term of unpaid leave time for serious illness of self, child,
spouse, or parent. Here are some of the specifics of this act:
➤ During a year, employees are allowed 12 weeks of unpaid leave.
➤ Employers must give employees the same or equivalent position when they
return.
➤ Employees are allowed a reduced work sched-
ule for the same time period if needed.
➤ Employers must continue to provide benefits
during the unpaid leave.
It’s important that you treat your employer with
as much consideration as possible. Try to give as
much notice as you can, be available during speci-
fied times to answer calls from co-workers if you
take sick days or an extended leave, or even go in
to the office to check on things on your “good”
days. By doing so, you’ll help build a mutually re-
spectful relationship with your employer and your
colleagues.
Letting Others In
In addition to issues of job performance, you’ll also
need to deal with your colleagues on a personal
level as well, at least to some degree. And just as is
true among your friends and family, you’ll face a host
of reactions when the news of your diagnosis spreads
throughout the office (which it almost certainly will,
no matter how discreet you try to be.) Some people
will assume that you’ll just pack up your tent and go
home. Others will pity you. Others will offer just the
right amounts of support and respect for your privacy.
Do remember that you have the right to keep your
private affairs private at all times. But it probably
makes sense to let certain people in on your condi-
tion, if only to allow them to support you when
you’re not feeling well or need time off.
When you talk to your colleagues, it’s important to re-
main as professional as possible. Depending on the
tone of the workplace, as well as your relationship to
your co-workers, you could always try adding a little
humor to the announcement. When people can
laugh, they have distance from the problem and are
able to cope with things. Humor also helps ease the
pain, both emotionally and physically.
If there are others in your company who have had
breast cancer, form a support group, or join any that
they already offer. Since cancer, directly or indirectly
affects about one in three women, it’s very likely that
you’re not the only one in your company who has
faced this disease.
Protecting Yourself at Work
What if you don’t have workplace options? What if
you don’t feel you’re being treated fairly because you
have breast cancer?
If you feel that your cancer has caused others in your
workplace to discriminate against you, take action.
First, talk with someone in your human resources de-
partment, your boss (if your boss is not involved in
the discrimination), or a support group. Find someone
who is familiar with workplace discrimination to not
only give you good advice and direction but also save
you hours of researching, legal fees, and even hurt
feelings.
You’ll also want to know your legal rights. Fortunately, you have plenty of those,
thanks in large part to the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits em-
ployers from discriminating against handicapped workers, including those women
and men with breast cancer.
Although these federal guidelines apply to all 50 states, not every company in every
state has to follow them. In fact, federal laws only apply to those who work for the
federal government, employers who receive funding from the federal government, or
private companies who have 25 or more employees. That means that if you work for a
small firm with just six workers, you may have to turn to an applicable state law—if
there is one—for help. Which also means you might have to get in the trenches and
do some legal research yourself.