Two years ago, November through January my daughter was critically ill and hospitalized in St. Louis. I followed all the FMLA guidelines. When my sick and personal days were exhausted, (thankfully) my school district’s “sick bank” I chose to participate in approved every single day I was gone. Employee benefits paid 5 days of bereavement pay after my daughter’s passing.

Less than a week after I returned to work, the RSV I contracted while in the hospital with my daughter became symptomatic and complications set in. I missed work for nearly another month. Once again, the “sick bank” came to the rescue.

I had money to fall back on and wasn’t in danger of losing my house or car, but I realize not everyone is that fortunate.

Without the “sick bank” I would have gone more than 3 months without pay. There’s a committee of employees that approve or disapprove in these situations, so I was literally at their mercy.

My daughter died on a Saturday and Monday morning an email arrived from the board clerk with a message that FMLA ended as of the person’s date of death

Cecelia Morse
Russell, Kansas