I’m on track to have surgery mid-late summer. I work for a couple as a pca, and they have limited staff. I will be needing a month off after surgery. My question(s) are do I tell them what surgery I’m having? How much notice do I give them? I’m worried they’ll just replace me if they need to hire someone to cover my hours.

The best answer to this question involves a number of factors (assuming PCA = Patient Care Assistant) including what are the terms of employment (are you your own business 1099 or do you get paid on a W2 basis), What state you are in (assuming you are even in the US), any employment agreement you may have.

Assuming the couple in question is just themselves Federal FMLA doesn't apply, so the question is are you asking them for a leave of absence, or do you have accrued vacation time?

Normally I wouldn't advise sharing too much, but since depending on some of the outstanding factors you mentioned above your employer may be free to get rid of you, you may find it worthwhile to explain things.

I also don't know what surgery you are considering, but it might also be worth considering whether the chosen surgery really requires you to take a whole month off or whether you could come back earlier with perhaps some limitations on lifting, etc.

For better results I would pose the question somewhere that might get a better legal answer (avvo perhaps).

It’s none of their business what medical procedure you are having as your employer. All they need to know is how much time you will need off, what restrictions you will need, etc.

What you share with an employer is completely up to you beyond whatever forms may need to be turned into a Human Resources office. I’m just of the opinion that the less that is shared the better for the employee, but I work for a large corporation that manages tens of thousands of employees.

The answer may be different if your job is solely dependent on an independent person as an employer vs a company. If you have no short term disability insurance, medical leave, etc. they may be well within their rights to replace you if they are not required to hold a position open for you. It is hard to tell from the information what your situation is.

Let me clarify, I’m in RI and PCa as in patient care assistant. Also, I’m employed as a subcontractor so I don’t get eto or anything. The doctor told me 4 weeks but I could definitely go back earlier with lifting restrictions, which I intend to let them know. I’m getting the gastric sleeve.

The real question is how big is the company that pays you. More than 50 people means you are entitled to FMLA leave.

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They only only employ 4-5 people