I am shooting to have surgery the end of February...early March but I am dredding telling my boss. I work in a office full of catty women that gossip and so does my boss. Can I lie about what type of surgery I am having(like gallbladder surgery) ? I think I need to take 2-3 weeks off.

I am too in this situation! I work in gastroenterolgy and I feel they will think I am CRAZY for removing part of a perfectly healthy organ!!

I am not sure how much I want to divulge just yet. I have only said I will be out 2 weeks for surgery.

I think like someone else said I do not think how big your company is. FMLA is a federal thing. You have the right to take it. I would research and know the facts when you go to human resourses. I know at my company we have to give them a 30day notice prior to FMLA. I have told "my shift" and all of them are supportive. However' date=' I have not told the grand pupa and I don't think I will. I don't think he will care and I only say that by past issues with others etc.

good luck to you!!![/quote']

FMLA does not apply to companies of less than 50 employees.

http://www.hrlaws.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56772

You can say that..... That's what I said then I took 3 weeks off and came back part time for another month,,.. The doctors note doesn't have to say what you having surgery for

well thats news....that sucks! thanks for letting me know

I chose to not tell my boss why I was taking a 3 week FMLA. I told her I was having surgery and it was personal. There was nothing more to be said. I was protected under FMLA. Some employers look at this as elective surgery and can deny time off.

I've told my supervisor that I'll be having surgery, but she is required to not inquire why and doesn't want me to volunteer the information, (I guess out of fear that I'll then claim that I was coerced into telling---gotta love a government job). She's supportive and eager to help with the FMLA paperwork.

She brought it up in a supervisor's meeting that I'll be out and one of the other supervisors keeps trying to find out what kind of surgery it is. That same person has also told me in the past that I need to lose weight, so no way in heck that I'd tell her anything. I've told a few people at work that I'll be out, but not why.

I feel the less that they know before surgery, the better. I'm not sure if I'll tell anyone afterwards, work is work and I don't need a bunch of people watching and making uninformed comments.

I have such a big mouth and no shame (and please don't take that literally) but as soon as I knew in my heart that this is what I was doing I told everyone. Coworkers... friends... family... strangers...whoever. I wanted to tell my boss expecially early bc I've had a lot of drs appointments and I want to make sure they have ample time to find my mini replacement while I'm off.

I plan to be honest and tell my employer exactly what I'm having done and why. If I lose weight I'll be a happier employee. I have problems with my knees, get tired quicker than my co-workers and certainly don't move as fast as they do. My blood pressure will go down, sleep apnea will go away giving me a better nights sleep, etc, etc.

There have been several employees who have had WLS and they have been very supportive. I feel fortunate that I don't have to worry.

I've experienced being out of a job and I never want to experience that again. I think irregardless, honesty is the best policy. Your weight loss will show and they will know. Be honest!

I am shooting to have surgery the end of February...early March but I am dredding telling my boss. I work in a office full of catty women that gossip and so does my boss. Can I lie about what type of surgery I am having(like gallbladder surgery) ? I think I need to take 2-3 weeks off.

I felt the same. I told a few people and said it was personal and not plastic. Now I go back Monday and I don't care who knows. Think I did the easy route then do my postop diet!! I am now a big advocate for this for my health.

Look up HIPPA and FMLA

I work at a major dept store unloading merchandise all day. The doctor said because of the type of work I do it would be best to take the full 6 weeks off to recover from the sleeve and gallbladder surgery. It just happens that my last day is the day after Black Friday which is always a manditory work day for anyone in retail. But then I don't return until after Jan 1st and I was afraid my boss would freak out and try and come up with a way fire me. I made sure that I filed for Short Term Disability and that the FMLA runs with it to protect me from losing my pay and my job. I told my boss that the insurance company waited to approve the surgery and then the doctor had to work me into his schedule, I had no control over the surgery date.

So if the worst thing that can happen is they fire me, then they fire me. I'm one of those people that believes that everything happens for a reason.

I am shooting to have surgery the end of February...early March but I am dredding telling my boss. I work in a office full of catty women that gossip and so does my boss. Can I lie about what type of surgery I am having(like gallbladder surgery) ? I think I need to take 2-3 weeks off.

I have a similar situation! I work for a food company and there is always sweets, and food around. I have decided not to tell my co-workers or my employees! I don't like the feeling of everyone looking at me whenever food enters the office. A co worker of mine had lap band surgery not to long ago and people often ask "can he eat that" really?

I'm taking medical leave and that's all thy need to know. I have started dieting (again) so my weight lost over the next few months while I'm on the supervised diet should ease the transition.

I wish you luck and remember you have to do what's best for you!

I'm only going to tell my boss and HR. I'm am Exec Assistant so he will definitely notice my absence. Plus he is the fatherly type. He hears surgery and he till worry. I'm hoping to wrap it around a holiday when we will be down. No one else needs to know because I don't want to answer any more questions than normal and I don't want anyone "Watching". I work with men so i hope they will be oblivious.

At the same time, if someone asks point blank I have no intention of lying.

I work for a national retail store as a manager. I told my next 2 managers up that I was having an abdominal surgery 11/21/12 and would need 2 weeks. There both guys and I'm a woman so they didn't ask for details. But my second manager up tried getting me to postpone cuz of the holiday season. I told him sorry but my deductible resets and copy goes up 01/01/13 so it would cost an extra $2k. He stopped asking. We submit leave requests to a 3rd party so that no one in our company is informed of our medical details. I would love to tell a couple coworkers that I'm close to but I know how everyone talks, not in a mean way, but still everyone in town would know by the time I'm back. And I just don't want the extra pressure. In a perfect world your manager wouldn't share the info because it violates federal law, but sometimes people just care and let things slip. Before you tell anyone at work you should think about how comfortable you are with all your coworkers knowing. Best of Luck!!

I work for a big company having do with the medical field. There is a very healthy culture around here. I am laying the trail for gallbladder issues/surgery here so that when I tell them I am having surgery there will be no great surprise. There is a woman here in another department who had the band (which wound up slipping and she was very ill) and then the bypass. The tongues were sure wagging when she was out of work (I would never have that kind of surgery' date=' look what can happen, etc.). So, I am opting to pass it off as another surgery and then if questions come later after when the weight comes off (God willing) I can choose to tell who I want. I did confide in the girl who had the WLS and she has been a great resource and friend.[/quote']

What are you doing to 'lay the trail' to gallbladder issues/surgery? I'm thinking the same thing... Being that my coworkers and boss like to gossip so dang much... Nothing is private...