How can you stop someone abusing the family leave medical act.?

Question

Empoyee has gout. Does overtime so he can enjoy his weekends. Usually calls off an hour or two before he is to come in sticking me with his 8 hours. I have complained to the boss at our union shop and he said he got in trouble when he mentioned the above mentioned abuse. I even requested changing shifts to get out of this situation. I work in a 24/7 operation where leaving is not an option. My daughter in law is a D.O. and said with proper diet and medication the gout should not be that big of a problem. please advise, desparate in ohio.

Answer 1

My suggestoin would be to keep complaining to the boss at the union shop. They might be able to look into the excessive use of the FMLA for this guy. If you are persistent and professional about it, something might get done. Good luck!

Answer 2

It burns me up when I see someone abusing the system, particularly when it impacts my life directly. Your problem however is that I don't believe you are medically trained to make a diagnosis of someones medical condition and it's effect on them. Same with your daughter-in-law.

You have to have a system in place otherwise it could be you there tomorrow with a debilitating illness and your boss could just fire you. There has to be some safeguards and people are people and you have abusers.

It's not your fault or your employers, it's on the people who abuse it. There is not really much you can do in my opinion except change the way you look at it or run for congress!

Answer 3

The only thing that I know about your situation is what you are saying. You should take into consideration that your mom is under a lot of stress herself, because she is doing all that she can for you. Being a mom myself if I had a child in your condition I would think that something I did while I was pregnant or something in my genes was what caused you to be that way. I would talk to your mother and ask if she would talk with a family counselor with you to see if you could work things out. I am sure that your mother really loves you and doesn't mean a lot of what she says in anger. I hope for the best for you sweetie

Answer 4

wikipedia:

Although the exact cause of gout is not known, it is thought to be linked to defects in purine metabolism. Purine is an organic compound commonly found in the body and is metabolized by the body into uric acid. People with primary gout have either an increased production of uric acid or an impaired excretion of uric acid, or a combination of both.

There are also different racial propensities to develop gout. The prevalence of gout is high among the peoples of the Pacific Islands, and the Māori of New Zealand, but rare in the Australian aborigine despite the latter's higher mean concentration of serum uric acid.[3]

Hyperuricemia is considered an aspect of the metabolic syndrome, although its prominence has been reduced in recent classifications. This explains the increased prevalence of gout among obese individuals.

Many still believe that gout is caused by a combination of dietary factors and "laziness". In particular, many believe that gout develops following several years of excessive alcohol consumption combined with an ongoing lack of physical activity and a diet completely lacking in purine-neutralising foods, such as berries, as well as other specific fruit and vegetables (see below). Others have refined this theory, saying that some are genetically predisposed to gout and some are not. As a result, people who are not predisposed can live over-indulgent lifestyles and not develop gout, while others who are predisposed can develop gout, despite being physically active and having a well-rounded diet. However, most in the "genetic predisposition" school of thought nonetheless believe that the condition is much more likely to develop in the predisposed if the other factors are present over several years (excess alcohol, inactivity and failure to eat purine-neutralising foods). It is known that lead sugar was used to sweeten wine, and that chronic lead poisoning is a cause of gout,[4][5] which condition is then known as saturnine gout, because of its association with alcohol and excess.[6]

Gout can also develop as co-morbidity of other diseases, including polycythaemia, leukaemia, intake of cytotoxics, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, renal disorders, and hemolytic anemia. This form of gout is often called secondary gout. Diuretics (particularly thiazide diuretics) have traditionally been blamed for precipitating attacks of gout, but a Dutch case-control study from 2006 appears to cast doubt on this.[7]

Prevention
Long term treatment (in frequent attacks) is antihyperuricemic therapy.

Dietary change can make a contribution to lowering the plasma urate level if a diet low in purines is maintained, because the body metabolizes purines into uric acid. Avoiding alcohol, high-purine foods, such as meat, fish, dry beans (also lentils and peas), mushrooms, spinach, asparagus, and cauliflower, as well as consuming purine-neutralizing foods, such as fresh fruits (especially cherries and strawberries) and most fresh vegetables, diluted celery juice, distilled water, and B-complex and C vitamins can help.

A strong natural cure is a berry extract supplement consisting of bilberry, blueberry or cherry extracts. The anthocyanins which give the berries their blue and purple hues, after entering the body, turn into powerful anti-inflammatories. These might be an especially preferable option to transplant patients, who frequently suffer gout due to increased toxicity and strain on the kidneys due to their immunosuppressant medication.[citation needed]

The mainstay of this approach, however, is the drug allopurinol, a xanthine oxidase inhibitor, which directly reduces the production of uric acid. However, allopurinol treatment should not be initiated during an attack of gout, as it can then worsen the attack. If a patient is on allopurinol during an attack, it should be continued.

The decision to use allopurinol is often a lifelong one. Patients have been known to relapse into acute arthritic gout when they stop taking their allopurinol, as the changing of their serum urate levels alone seems to cause crystal precipitation.

Allopurinol and uricosuric agents are contraindicated in patients with kidney stones and other renal condit


I wouldn't be quick to blame the co-worker...he may be genetically vulnerable to uric acid in meats or he doesn't know what treatment to use...much fruit and much less animal products and fat...