Employer Not Granting Time Off for an Appointment

My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: Minnesota

I am getting surgery and sent HR an email with my request off for my pre-op appointment and they rejected my request and scheduled me during my appointment. Is this legal?

Yes, it is legal. An employer is not required to alter their schedule to accommodate an employees personal needs. Of course, it is considerate to do so but the law does not require an employer to be considerate of an employees personal needs.:(

I'm going to qualify jk's answer and say that it MAY be legal. Please answer the following questions:

1.) How long have you worked for this employer?
2.) How many employees does your employer have within 75 miles of your location?
3.) In the last 12 months, did you work a minimum of 1,250 hours for this employer?
4.) What is your surgery for?
5.) When you asked for the time off, did you tell them the reason?

I see what you are shooting for there cbg. As such, should not the questions of:

when did you discover the appointment time and date
when did you apply for the scheduling adjustment

be asked also?

If the appointment date was known for more than 30 days, does not FMLA require the employee provide notice as soon as practical with a preferred timeline of 30 days in order to invoke their rights under FMLA or, if the employee has less than a 30 day notice they give notice to the employer ASAP (when the employee learns of the need or at most by the next day)?

Excellent points, jk. You are correct.

1.) How long have you worked for this employer? Since January of this year.
2.) How many employees does your employer have within 75 miles of your location? I work at a chain. My chain has between 50 and 60 employees. Within 75miles I'd say a few hundred.
3.) In the last 12 months, did you work a minimum of 1,250 hours for this employer? I imagine so.
4.) What is your surgery for? Eye muscle surgery.
5.) When you asked for the time off, did you tell them the reason? Yes.

when did you discover the appointment time and date I can't recall the day. I'd say a few weeks ago. I think it has been less than 30 days.
when did you apply for the scheduling adjustment 2 weeks ago

You need to be more precise about the number of hours you worked for this employer in the last year. If you worked 1250+ hours, you get one answer, if you worked 1249.5 hours, you get a completely different answer.

Actually, no. Since he has only worked for the employer since January of this year, the 12 month requirement has not been met even if the others do.

What I was looking for was whether or not FMLA applied. But under the law you must meet ALL the qualifications before FMLA is triggered and you do not. So jk's answer stands.

Quote:

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Quoting cbg

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So jk's answer stands.

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jk got lucky. He actually ignored the concern of FMLA and only by chance was right.

Thanks for stepping in and bringing up the possibility of FMLA involvement.

I talked to my employer and they took that shift off my schedule as the manager I talked to isn't a jerk. I guess this topic is moot now anyway. Thanks for your help!