Informing your Employer

Can anyone give me an suggestions as to how to inform my employer about having WLS? How much information do I have to disclose? Please help. Thanks.

Elisa, When I decided To go through With My Surgery It was Approved In April Of Last Year. And By The Time I Had My Surgey Scheduled My Boss Knew I Was Having The Surgey 9 Months In Advance. I just Told Him My Surgery Is Coming Up I Dont Know When But I Will Give You At Least 1 Month Notice. He Was Fine With That. There Wasnt Much He Could Do Considering I Was Either Going On Disability Or I Was Taking My Vacation Everything Went Fine And I Was Only Out Of Work For 2-1/2 Weeks. And I Had The Full Open. Good Luck With Everything And Dont Be Intimidated By Anything.

I'm in kind of a different situation. I've only been on the job 3 months. Anyone have issues or any advice on how to go about telling my boss?

With the FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act), you really shouldn't have to disclose more than "I am having a medically neccessary operation". Employers cannot by law make you disclose your personal medical history or problems. I have been on my job just over a year, and pretty much just told my boss that I needed to have surgery, and here was the date. He did not ask outrright (again, I do not think it is legal for him to do so), although he kind of hinted around the issue. I ended up telling him, but no one else in the office, not even HR. The cat will pretty much be out of the bag when I go back to work, though, I guess, considering I will have lost a bunch of weight... Look up employee rights in your state, and FMAL (which is federal). Good luck!!

Unfortunately FLMA only protects you if you have been on the job for 12 months or more. I'm pre-op, but I went through a different surgery a couple of years ago, I had only been on the job for 5 months and had to be out for 4 weeks. Since you're not protected by FMLA because of the short time you've been on the job, the best thing to do is ask your employer about it. Depending on the size of the company you work for, very often managers have the discretion to approve the time away, but unless you have available paid time off to use, or a disability program, I wouldn't count on getting a paycheck during your time off. You would be in better shape from a job protection standpoint if you waited until your 1 year anniversary on the job. Although you'd still need a disability program or paid time off to continue getting a paycheck, your job would be protected under FMLA for a minimum of 12 weeks and a maximum of 18 weeks. Good luck!

Hi Elizabeth, I have been at my job for 2 months and have the surgery next month. Fortunately, I knew about the surgery when I was offered the job and made it part of the hiring agreement. I must admit that I have not told them what kind of surgery, but that it is major and I will be out 4 to 6 weeks. They have been very good about it. If you think you may have a problem, I would ask them first and if it is okay, get it in writing. If it is not okay, you might consider waiting 10 more months (I know this is hard), but by then you will qualify for the Family Medical Leave Act and they are legally required to give you up to 12 weeks off (If they employ over 25 employees). I chose not to tell them the surgery is Gastric Bypass because most people are not educated about the procedure and feel it is cosmetic. Do keep in mind that your employer has no legal obligation to allow you the leave at this point in time. Good luck! Dawn