Public Employee Press

Union wins back pay for member's unjust suspension


By MIKE LEE

The Federal Medical Leave Act is clear: Workers should not be denied or punished for doing what is vitally necessary for themselves and their family in a time of need.

Family leave is a hard-fought right for our workers, and there should never be a question or concern when they take leave in case of health emergencies for themselves or for their loved ones.

When SSEU Local 371 member Deborah Padilla, a Hospital Care Investigator at Metropolitan Hospital in Manhattan, returned from medical leave last April, she was told wrongly by management that she was only granted intermittent days off and marked as AWOL for the rest of the time. She was informed that she was suspended from duty.

Padilla, who worked at the hospital for more than 13 years, was shocked, and she feared losing her job. As a single mother with four children, Padilla had every reason to worry.

"I was scared," she said.

That same day, she contacted SSEU Local 371's Council Rep Alexander Elias and filed a grievance against management.

"She was not allowed to return to work," said Elias. "She was wrongfully suspended without formal charges despite the documentation and support from her own department."

Elias acted quickly, and was able to help Padilla return to work through the Step 2 grievance process by the end of June.

They proved that she had been granted a block of 12 weeks leave, as permitted by the FMLA program. Also, they argued correctly that because she is a permanent employee, Padilla could not be suspended without due process or actual charges.

While she was out on leave, Padilla remained in contact with her immediate supervisor and others in her department.

The department provided documentation that Padilla was granted leave under the FMLA. The documentation showed that Padilla had indeed requested and received the full 12-week leave permitted under the FMLA.

During the grievance process, the hospital labor relations official who refused to allow Padilla to return to work was let go.

Pay dispute resolved

Though Padilla was back at work, the matter of her back pay was still unresolved. Because of the absence of the dismissed labor relations official, the grievance could have dragged on as both management and the union studied the back pay issue.

But management agreed to settle the issue and pay Padilla for the ten weeks she was out.

"It was important that Ms. Padilla be made whole," Elias said. "Management understood, and also apologized for what had happened to her."

Padilla received around $6,000 in back pay for the time she was not working.

"Thank God that I contacted Alex," said Padilla. "The union did a great job in quickly addressing this situation."