[lskild]

I am currently using FMLA for cancer treatment Washington State. I was told by my employer that I have to use all PTO time and then it will be unpaid. I want to save my PTO time for the future. Do I have to use PTO for FMLA or can I save it?

[Perito]

I'm not an expert in this. If it were me, I, like you, would want to save my PTO. However, that may not be possible. Normally, your contract with your employer specifies how you take sick leave. If you take it as paid time off, and if you have a limited amount of it, it will eventually run out. After that, you take unpaid leave. If that's the contract (employment agreement or company policy) you have, you can't expect your employer to continue paying you without counting it against the paid time off.

However, it might be possible to convince them to let you take unpaid leave now and paid leave later. I'm not sure there's really an advantage to that, however. You probably cannot take 12 weeks of unpaid leave and then expect to take additional paid leave.

The Family and Medical Leave Act does not say that the employer has to pay you when you're sick. It just gives you certain rights

U.S. Dept of Labor - FMLA

Here's the overview from the above site.

Overview

Covered employers must grant an eligible employee up to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for one or more of the following reasons:

* for the birth and care of the newborn child of the employee;
* for placement with the employee of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care;
* to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition; or
* to take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition.

[jmjoseph]

I have had two surgeries, and had to take two medical leaves in the past three years. I took intermitten family medical leave of absence (IFMLA) when I was out for just a day or two. But, FMLA is different. I took those when I had to be out for weeks, and months, without having to take my PTO.

By law, they have guidelines to follow. Go to your human resources representative and find out what those laws are.

God bless you on a speedy recovery.

[Fr_Chuck]

Normally yes, a company has to give you the time off, but can require you to use any vaction and or sick days to use for this.

U.S. Department of Labor - Wage and Hour Division (WHD) - Family and Medical Leave Act

And this page tells you that they can do this. It is completely up to the company policy, the result is they have to allow you off but can use PTO if it is company pollicy to do so