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while you are on leave.

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You need to get your own computer.

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Don't use them people computer while you on leave.

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Them people watching everything.

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Welcome to the Trill MBA Show, the career management podcast teaching black women how to
become unstoppable at work.

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I'm Felicia Ann Rose Enuha, AKA the Trillest MBA, delivering the inspiring truth through
strategies and tactics so you feel protected.

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confident and ready to conquer your career.

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Welcome back to the Show.

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Look, today I ain't gonna hold you long, but I have some very important things that I need
to talk with you about as far as girl, you gotta take your leave.

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Okay?

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It's crazy out here.

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It's stressful as hell.

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And you owe it to yourself to put yourself first.

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And I know you probably out there.

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going hybrid in the office three days a week at least.

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If not, you working for some company that wants you to come in every day.

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So now you got to commute and deal with all that stuff.

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And then you got to deal with them people at work.

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Girl, it's a lot.

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And so now that we are through Q1 and well into Q2, I need you to start preparing and
planning because a lot of these companies are on their ish.

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because of the environment.

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And you don't have to be subjected to all of that.

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And sometimes people need to miss you.

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And if they don't miss you, i.e.

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they decide when you get back, they gonna let you go.

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Well, you gonna be prepared anyway.

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After you listen to this episode where I'm gonna break down step-by-step the things you
need to do and think about in order for you to take your medical leave so you can get a

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break.

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and you can care for yourself and put yourself first.

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Let's talk about preparing for your leave.

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A couple things I need you to understand.

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If you are having performance issues, i.e.

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if you've just had a performance mid-year review or you had your performance review
earlier this year and it wasn't looking good for the kid, as long as you're not on a PIP,

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and a PIP is a performance improvement plan,

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or other companies call them some kind of corrective action, I've heard that.

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So as long as you're not officially in a system on a plan, hurry up and take your leave,
okay?

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Now, them people might argue that, we were gonna let you go, but they ain't pulled all
their documentation together yet.

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So...

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I need you to hurry up and take your leave and follow the things that I'm about to tell
you in this episode.

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I'm hoping though that I'm talking to someone who you've got solid performance scores,
know, your boss, y'all look cool.

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Okay.

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But things are stressful and you do need a break.

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So evaluate number one, where are you in your work?

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situation.

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If you're having a good situation, you just need a break.

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This is chef's kiss for you.

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Okay.

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If you have a sick somebody in your family and you need a break to take care of them, I'm
going to give you the tips to do that and still get your money.

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The other thing though, if you are not having a good experience right now at your job,
like you're furiously looking for another job, you can do nothing right.

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things are looking sideways, but they haven't officially put you on a PIP, then you need
to expeditiously do the things that I'm about to tell you to do.

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So now, after you've evaluated your situation, I want you to go on your company's good
intranet or wherever they keep the employee resources where you can see your benefits,

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where all the things are.

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And I need you to find your company's policy around leave, FMLA, around

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short-term disability and the process to do that.

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Now, most big companies, and I can only talk through what I know, guys, and what I know
are these Fortune 500s, Fortune 1000s.

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They usually have a third-party administrator that handles all this.

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you'll see there's a phone number that you call and that's who you tell first that you
would like to take leave.

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But first thing I need you to do is gather information.

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Don't.

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talk about taking leave.

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Don't even say anything about you gonna take leave.

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Don't tell your boss ahead of time.

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Don't say nothing, okay?

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You do not have to tell these people.

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That is mistake number one.

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We'd be thinking we supposed to, like, that's the right thing to do and we gotta do the
right thing.

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No, the right thing to do for you is to keep this to yourself, okay?

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That's number one.

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And gather the information.

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So gather all of the information that you need to take leave.

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The other thing I need you to do is if you haven't already, I need you to get a primary
care physician that will listen to you and they will fill out paperwork for you.

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So I want you to make a doctor's appointment and you're gonna get that form.

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It's called a PHQ-2 or PHQ-9.

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Usually they give a PHQ-9, it's nine questions and it assesses how you've been doing.

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Everything stress you out every day.

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That's how you gonna answer.

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And you won't be lying because everything is stressing you out every day.

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But even if you haven't thought about the worst, I need you to act like you thought about
the worst when you fill this out, okay?

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And then your doctor's gonna ask you how, you you're gonna say, hey doctor, I'm...

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really struggling, I can't sleep, my eating's off, I feel jittery, I can't focus.

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You off, you bad, you down bad, okay?

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You down bad bad.

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And listen to me, if you really need a break for somebody else, I still need you to go to
the doctor and be like, I'm down bad, me.

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And I'm down bad because I'm having to take care of this person.

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And I'm really stressed out and it's a lot and work is a lot and the pressure and I just,

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I feel like I'm about to break.

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I need you to feel it from your core.

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And you tell your doctor, I need time off.

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If your doctor says any BS like, I mean, you're just trying to get time off.

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You should be working or anything.

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Fire that person.

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You need a new physician.

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That's not your doctor.

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That's the doctor of the devil.

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Don't let the devil use your doctor against you.

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Okay?

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The only thing your doctor should be saying, oh, you need time off?

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I can fill out any paperwork you need or my assistant can fill out any paperwork you need.

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If that's not the response, find a new doctor, find a new doctor's office, talk to your
friends because your doctors are supposed to be helping you.

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Now, the other thing I need you to do, if you are in therapy, I need you to tell your
therapist, hey therapist, I may need you to fill out some paperwork for me because I need

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a break.

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and we've been talking and you see I'm stressed out and you've probably already told me
that I probably should take a break, but I've been afraid or scared, so I'm gonna do it

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now.

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So now your therapist is ready to help you and if you don't have a therapist, you've been
needed one.

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I've been telling you girl to go get a therapist.

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You can't deal with that stuff, this stuff, that stuff, that stuff, over there, over here,
over there.

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It's too much.

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You gotta process all that, get all that out.

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You over there internalizing and holding on it, no.

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You're killing yourself.

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Stress is a killer.

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So go to therapy, okay?

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You need it, trust me.

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So, now you got your primary care physician on deck, you got your therapist on deck, and
you know the process for your company.

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You know where to call, whether it's Sedgwick or New York Life or whoever else big company
that is, there's like three or four of these big administrators of these programs for

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these big companies, right?

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And so you call the number, you've already talked to your doctor about this, you've picked
your dates.

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that you wanna take leave, when you call them, a lot of times companies will say, you have
to be out sick for a certain number of days.

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So you are gonna take sick days starting on a certain day.

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And it should be within 72 hours of you making this call saying that you're going to go on
leave.

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You're gonna tell Sedgwick or whoever, hey, my doctor said I need to go on leave.

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I'm gonna go out on this day and that day should be two or three days after you talk to
these people because what they're gonna do is they're gonna contact your HR department and

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your benefits department and then HR is going to alert your manager that you're going out
on leave.

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So this is why you need to do this swiftly.

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And I actually, I wouldn't even wait two or three days.

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Like I would call on a Friday and then I would.

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email my boss that Monday and say, hey, I'm sick.

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I'm going to be out.

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And then they will get the information from the HR that you, you're going to be out for
the next, how many ever weeks.

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Now, because you are prepared, when you send that email on Monday saying, hey, I'm going
to be out, I'm sick, you want to give them basically like a document saying, here's all

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the things.

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Here's where all the things are.

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Here's who all is gonna handle everything while I'm gone.

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So this is where you prepare.

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So this way you will foster some goodwill that you left them, but also you don't give them
the opportunity to do some backhanded stuff.

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You gotta catch them by surprise, okay?

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And so that way you go and leave and you've given them all the things.

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And then they can't contact you while you're out.

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You can't do any work while you're out.

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And then you'll spend the next couple of days with your doctor, possibly your therapist,
but you really just need your primary care physician, filling out paperwork and filling in

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stuff so that you can get your short-term disability insurance.

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Now, I know some people are concerned because they're like, what is this short-term
disability insurance?

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Is it as much as my pay?

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Can I afford this pay cut?

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When I get back from the break, I'm gonna break this down for you so you understand what
you're getting into based on your company's policy.

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So when we get back to break, we'll talk about how you get paid while you on leave.

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When we get back.

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Let me ask you something.

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How many times have you watched less competent folks get promoted while you just stay
stuck?

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I've seen this so many times.

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The whole reason why this Show exists is I was like, what am I doing wrong?

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I would always blame myself.

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And if you're like me, you're probably sitting there doing that too.

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And the thing is, it's not your work and it's not you.

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It's actually your career strategy.

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You don't have one.

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That is the fundamental problem.

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Your hard work alone doesn't get you promoted.

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Strategy gets you promoted.

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So I have the FastTrack system.

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It's for high performing professionals like you who are ready to create their career
strategy using the pie framework.

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This is very tactical to the point, okay?

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So you'll walk away with a personal power plan that shows you exactly where you're strong,
where you're invisible, and how to shift your career strategy without compromising who you

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are.

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So now, if you click the link in the Show notes, you can go to the page where you can get
this FastTrack system.

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You already have what it takes.

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You just need a strategy that works for you.

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And that's what this system does.

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click the link in the Show notes and grab it while it's on sale, cause honey, the price is
going to go up, okay?

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So again, go to the Show notes, click the link and get your plan together, before they
hand your next promotion to a Chad or a Bob.

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Now, let's get back to the Show.

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Okay, now we are back from the break.

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Before the break, we were talking about what to do before leave.

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Now, as promised, I'm gonna talk about the money so you understand the money.

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FMLA is the Family Medical Leave Act, and hopefully it stays an act.

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But while we have it for now, let's use it, okay?

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So, what this is is...

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by our laws in this country, it's federal.

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You can have up to 12 weeks of unpaid job protective leave for serious health conditions,
including mental health.

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Now, caveat, you had to have worked a consecutive 12 months at your company before you can
take the leave.

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And this is why it gets dicey if you are planning pregnancy, because when you get
pregnant, your actual maternity leave is FMLA and your short-term disability.

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And so that's how you get paid when you're on maternity leave.

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Instead of maternity leave, think of this as mental health leave.

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Or if you were to have a surgery, you would do the same leave.

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This is no different from that.

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This is the same process and system.

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The only thing that changes is that you're gonna take a leave for a mental health issue.

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Oh Felicia, I don't really have no mental health issue.

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Yes you do girl, for this reason.

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Okay?

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You do.

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Cause you need a break?

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dance on your last nerves and that frees your mental health.

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Okay, now, FMLA protects your job.

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Your short-term disability is an insurance.

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So what you'll find is every plan is different.

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I worked at a company one time where the leave the first eight weeks was fully paid.

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That was the company's policy.

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Now, I ain't seen that since.

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but I've seen anywhere from 80 % of your base salary to 60 % of your base salary.

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Now, I know you're saying, oh my God, 60%, let me break this down for you though.

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Because this is an insurance policy, they take your base salary before taxes.

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So it's not the net you take home every week, it's your actual, like what you would take
home if the government would stay out your check.

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And if you didn't have to pay any health insurance or anything like that.

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So take that number, multiply that by 0.6, and then that's how much your benefit is going
to end up being.

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And they will not take taxes out of that because it's insurance, it's not income.

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So now when you look at it, it's closer to your take home than what you thought.

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Even at 60%.

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And if you're lucky enough to have 80 or 90%, then that's even better.

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In some cases, you might take home, because if it's 100 % for those first few weeks,
you're gonna take home more than you do when you're working.

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You just have to understand your company's policy and plan, and every company's is
different.

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So what you had at one company won't be the same as another company most of the time.

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but they're usually very similar.

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The worst I've seen is 60%.

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00:17:14,566 --> 00:17:26,486
The other thing, if you were smart and you might not need to take leave now, but if you
always plan that you might take leave, when you do your benefits, a lot of companies have

216
00:17:26,486 --> 00:17:31,526
an option to add additional short-term disability benefits.

217
00:17:31,526 --> 00:17:40,224
And so if you think about it when you're doing your benefits or you start a new company
and you're doing your benefits, always pay for that extra

218
00:17:40,224 --> 00:17:42,055
Short-term disability.

219
00:17:42,115 --> 00:17:50,002
So like maybe the company already gives you short-term disability at 60%, but you can bump
it up if you pay a little extra into it.

220
00:17:50,002 --> 00:17:54,546
You can bump it up to 80 % or 90%.

221
00:17:54,546 --> 00:17:57,729
Pay for it and make sure you use it.

222
00:17:57,749 --> 00:18:03,173
So also it's tax deductible, cause insurance, it's a win.

223
00:18:03,514 --> 00:18:04,615
Trust me.

224
00:18:04,695 --> 00:18:07,087
Make sure that you have short-term disability.

225
00:18:07,087 --> 00:18:08,438
That's another thing.

226
00:18:08,802 --> 00:18:12,143
because you can take your FMLA, you just won't make any money.

227
00:18:12,143 --> 00:18:20,265
And if you've saved up and you have a nest egg and you don't need money, but you
definitely will need to come back to a job, then take the FMLA.

228
00:18:20,265 --> 00:18:28,547
But if you like, oh, I can't take leave and not get nothing, listen, be like Denzel, I'm
leaving with something, okay?

229
00:18:29,348 --> 00:18:33,229
And so short-term disability is you're leaving with something.

230
00:18:33,509 --> 00:18:36,500
So this is why you call the people to take your leave.

231
00:18:36,500 --> 00:18:37,890
And usually,

232
00:18:37,992 --> 00:18:42,086
FMLA is handled by the same people that handle the short-term disability.

233
00:18:42,086 --> 00:18:43,768
It's very similar paperwork.

234
00:18:43,768 --> 00:18:46,631
So they just kind of all wrap it all together most of the time.

235
00:18:46,631 --> 00:18:51,977
So again, it's based on your company's policies and what they have in place.

236
00:18:51,977 --> 00:18:56,191
So that's why I said, make sure you download everything, read it ahead of time.

237
00:18:56,191 --> 00:18:57,622
Okay.

238
00:19:04,334 --> 00:19:11,334
Now that we have that understood, while you are on leave, you need to get your own
computer.

239
00:19:11,454 --> 00:19:14,094
Don't use them people computer while you on leave.

240
00:19:14,094 --> 00:19:15,834
Don't you do it.

241
00:19:16,234 --> 00:19:18,534
I mm-mm, I don't hear it.

242
00:19:18,674 --> 00:19:25,074
Them people watching everything, do not use them people computer while you on leave.

243
00:19:25,074 --> 00:19:31,074
Now I need you whatever you gotta do to get you a little laptop, something cheap.

244
00:19:31,286 --> 00:19:33,607
You can do Gmail and all the things.

245
00:19:33,607 --> 00:19:36,968
You can send your resume and things out.

246
00:19:36,968 --> 00:19:38,288
You can apply for jobs.

247
00:19:38,288 --> 00:19:39,428
Do that.

248
00:19:39,448 --> 00:19:40,829
Please do that.

249
00:19:40,829 --> 00:19:45,820
Because here's where you need to take the time out to really take some time.

250
00:19:45,820 --> 00:19:49,191
So for the first four weeks, I want you to chill.

251
00:19:49,206 --> 00:19:56,186
I want you to chill and I want you to not do much of nothing, but dream and breathe and
hang out with your people.

252
00:19:56,186 --> 00:20:01,334
And if you are taking care of somebody, focus on that, but take a break from that.

253
00:20:01,516 --> 00:20:04,149
get some help, line up some resources.

254
00:20:04,149 --> 00:20:09,904
Not too much administrative stuff, but if you gotta do some administrative stuff, do a
little bit of that.

255
00:20:09,904 --> 00:20:17,061
But like, eat bonbons and ice cream and watch raggedy TV for a whole day.

256
00:20:17,061 --> 00:20:22,647
Like things that are just unapologetically resting, okay?

257
00:20:22,647 --> 00:20:26,030
Take that time, take that mental break, take the load off.

258
00:20:26,030 --> 00:20:28,670
And don't be kiki-ing with your work friends.

259
00:20:28,730 --> 00:20:33,050
Separate yourself from work for real for those first few weeks, okay?

260
00:20:33,050 --> 00:20:35,070
And don't worry about what's going on nowhere.

261
00:20:35,070 --> 00:20:38,730
Just take care of you from the inside out.

262
00:20:38,730 --> 00:20:44,930
Go for walks, go see some movies, go do some shit you've been wanting to do.

263
00:20:45,310 --> 00:20:50,850
Do you, be you, take care of you unapologetically, okay?

264
00:20:50,850 --> 00:20:53,010
You'll feel so much better.

265
00:20:54,232 --> 00:20:58,253
Then I want you to start thinking about what is it that you really wanna be doing?

266
00:20:58,253 --> 00:21:01,014
If this job is driving you crazy, how do you maneuver?

267
00:21:01,014 --> 00:21:03,365
How do you do what you do?

268
00:21:03,365 --> 00:21:09,766
So this is where I want you to take some time out and update your resume at four weeks.

269
00:21:09,766 --> 00:21:12,547
So now you've got eight weeks left.

270
00:21:12,547 --> 00:21:20,469
So week five, update your resume, start calling people, having conversations.

271
00:21:20,469 --> 00:21:22,550
You don't have to talk about you're on leave.

272
00:21:22,550 --> 00:21:23,750
They don't know.

273
00:21:23,832 --> 00:21:25,143
They don't work with you.

274
00:21:25,143 --> 00:21:27,043
You're not talking to work people.

275
00:21:27,043 --> 00:21:28,424
You're talking to people.

276
00:21:28,424 --> 00:21:36,807
You used to work with other companies, networking, seeing what opportunities are out
there, thinking through what you want to do next.

277
00:21:36,988 --> 00:21:38,108
Okay?

278
00:21:38,248 --> 00:21:44,742
And then you get serious on a job search, week five through 12.

279
00:21:45,022 --> 00:21:51,273
And the goal is that you're getting some interviews, you're honing in on what you want to
do.

280
00:21:51,273 --> 00:21:52,994
That's if you want to leave.

281
00:21:53,086 --> 00:21:59,289
Or if you want to get promoted, start thinking about mapping out like, what does this
promotion plan look like?

282
00:21:59,549 --> 00:22:01,070
What's my strategy here?

283
00:22:01,070 --> 00:22:04,891
Who do I need to build a relationship wall with?

284
00:22:04,891 --> 00:22:08,793
Who do I need as an ally in my corner to get this promotion?

285
00:22:08,793 --> 00:22:14,215
These are the things that you work on your last eight weeks of leave.

286
00:22:14,296 --> 00:22:19,480
Now, the very last week, I want you to do fun stuff again and

287
00:22:19,480 --> 00:22:23,713
prepare your mind, prepare your spirit, your heart to go back.

288
00:22:23,734 --> 00:22:38,426
And the cool thing is, even though you are supposed to go back to your job, the rule is
you can go back to a job that's similar, they can't cut your pay, but you could be going

289
00:22:38,426 --> 00:22:39,547
back to a different job.

290
00:22:39,547 --> 00:22:47,692
So it could be one of those situations just like, I know at a lot of companies, people
plan their pregnancies around rotation cycles.

291
00:22:47,692 --> 00:22:57,379
So that, especially if they're on a crappy desk, like they're working on things they don't
wanna work on, or business lines of business they don't wanna work on, then they'll plan

292
00:22:57,379 --> 00:23:02,282
their pregnancy around rotating to a better desk, right?

293
00:23:02,282 --> 00:23:06,435
Or getting a different job, getting a different manager, right?

294
00:23:06,435 --> 00:23:11,358
This is a strategic career tool to use at your disposal.

295
00:23:11,539 --> 00:23:14,841
So use it wisely and prepare.

296
00:23:14,841 --> 00:23:16,972
So we're gonna take a quick break.

297
00:23:17,230 --> 00:23:30,685
pay a bill or two, I'll come back, I'm gonna talk about what could go wrong and what could
happen on the back end and how to prepare for that when we get back from the break.

298
00:23:34,830 --> 00:23:48,706
Hey guys, so we have digital tools that accompany each episode to help you work through
some of the tactics and strategies that you need to put into place so that you're thriving

299
00:23:48,706 --> 00:23:49,576
at work.

300
00:23:49,576 --> 00:24:02,032
So go to TrillinBA.com and if you haven't already, sign up for our freebies and you'll get
access to not only these digital tools that go with these episodes, but you'll also get

301
00:24:02,032 --> 00:24:02,782
access to

302
00:24:02,782 --> 00:24:07,878
every digital tool I've ever created that's free to you to help you in your career.

303
00:24:07,878 --> 00:24:10,625
Now, let's get back to the Show.

304
00:24:14,622 --> 00:24:15,643
And we're back.

305
00:24:15,643 --> 00:24:19,055
And so again, get your own computer.

306
00:24:19,055 --> 00:24:21,217
I'm so sincere.

307
00:24:21,217 --> 00:24:22,768
Okay.

308
00:24:22,768 --> 00:24:28,732
As you're in that last week and you're preparing to go back to work, prepare yourself for
it could happen.

309
00:24:28,732 --> 00:24:31,113
Most of time it does not happen.

310
00:24:31,142 --> 00:24:41,501
It has happened to me, but you could go back and HR put a meeting on your calendar the day
you get back and then tell you the company has decided to let you go.

311
00:24:41,501 --> 00:24:42,882
That could happen.

312
00:24:42,996 --> 00:24:47,946
Now, the great thing is, is you saw this episode and you were prepared.

313
00:24:47,946 --> 00:24:49,572
I don't want you to get upset.

314
00:24:49,572 --> 00:24:52,513
I want you to smile and say, well, thank you very much.

315
00:24:52,594 --> 00:24:53,586
How are you?

316
00:24:53,586 --> 00:24:55,356
Are you doing okay?

317
00:24:55,837 --> 00:25:01,932
Then what you're to say, oh, okay, send me over the paperwork and I will have my attorney
look at it.

318
00:25:01,932 --> 00:25:02,962
Thanks.

319
00:25:03,083 --> 00:25:04,523
That's all you got to do.

320
00:25:04,524 --> 00:25:05,825
Don't even worry about it.

321
00:25:05,825 --> 00:25:11,509
Because before you even planned this leave, you lined up an employment attorney.

322
00:25:11,509 --> 00:25:12,710
oh

323
00:25:13,454 --> 00:25:15,816
And here's the deal.

324
00:25:16,437 --> 00:25:32,350
In order for them to let you go when you get back from leave, they have to prove that they
decided to let you go before they knew, before they knew you were going on leave.

325
00:25:32,350 --> 00:25:35,092
When do they know that you're going on leave?

326
00:25:35,092 --> 00:25:39,496
The day that the third party administrator tells them that you're going on leave.

327
00:25:39,496 --> 00:25:42,594
That should be the day that they know that you're going on leave.

328
00:25:42,594 --> 00:25:52,016
This is why you don't tell them ahead of time for that because there's paperwork and
documentation in that that they cannot get around.

329
00:25:52,197 --> 00:25:54,477
There's no hearsay about it.

330
00:25:54,957 --> 00:25:56,698
It's documented.

331
00:25:57,618 --> 00:26:01,619
Now, the thing is, you've been gone for 12 weeks.

332
00:26:01,619 --> 00:26:07,341
In that 12 weeks, they could have decided, we gonna lay a bunch of people off, blah, blah,
blah.

333
00:26:07,461 --> 00:26:11,594
The other thing you can do is you can look and see if they've submitted a warrant act.

334
00:26:11,594 --> 00:26:15,575
ahead of time, it's 60 days before they start letting people go.

335
00:26:15,576 --> 00:26:23,639
So if you look up the Warren Act and your company's in there, don't take leave yet.

336
00:26:23,659 --> 00:26:30,602
Because what'll happen is they'll say, oh, we had already planned to eliminate her
position.

337
00:26:30,862 --> 00:26:33,643
So there's no retaliation here.

338
00:26:33,643 --> 00:26:40,566
But you want to wait until after if you make it through the layoff period.

339
00:26:40,846 --> 00:26:44,046
then go on leave, like right after.

340
00:26:44,106 --> 00:26:50,086
Because then if you come back, they can't say, oh, we planned for it.

341
00:26:50,086 --> 00:26:52,786
No, you already did what you had planned.

342
00:26:52,786 --> 00:26:54,946
You executed that already.

343
00:26:55,126 --> 00:27:03,206
So it's harder for them to prove that it's not retaliation because they cannot retaliate
against you taking FMLA.

344
00:27:03,206 --> 00:27:08,966
Right now today, in April of 2025,

345
00:27:10,956 --> 00:27:12,338
I don't know after that.

346
00:27:12,338 --> 00:27:13,989
I don't know, guys.

347
00:27:14,671 --> 00:27:15,829
I don't know what this is.

348
00:27:15,829 --> 00:27:17,094
I don't know what's happening.

349
00:27:18,830 --> 00:27:21,020
I could get deported, y'all, who knows?

350
00:27:23,438 --> 00:27:25,449
You gotta laugh to keep from crying.

351
00:27:27,374 --> 00:27:33,528
So for right now, if they let you go the day you get back, that's retaliation.

352
00:27:33,528 --> 00:27:41,624
Because the thing is, if they say, well, when she wasn't here, we realized we didn't need
her, that's retaliation.

353
00:27:41,864 --> 00:27:43,345
Find me somewhere else.

354
00:27:43,345 --> 00:27:44,947
You're supposed to hold my job.

355
00:27:44,947 --> 00:27:50,170
If you found other people to fill in while I was gone, great, now let me get back to my
job.

356
00:27:50,170 --> 00:27:52,371
Not, oh, we didn't need her.

357
00:27:52,552 --> 00:27:53,913
No, you can't do that.

358
00:27:53,913 --> 00:27:55,774
That's not legal right now.

359
00:27:56,076 --> 00:27:58,986
And the great thing is most companies will settle with you.

360
00:27:58,986 --> 00:28:07,734
You know, it might take a little time, but at this point you already started looking for
another job for eight weeks, you've been in it, you got interviews and stuff, then you not

361
00:28:07,734 --> 00:28:09,095
worry, you ready.

362
00:28:09,095 --> 00:28:21,244
And so even if you plan to go back to your company and you want to stay, and even if you
do a promotion plan, I need you to get your networking up in those eight weeks and keep

363
00:28:21,244 --> 00:28:25,006
your eye on what could be outside of your company.

364
00:28:25,152 --> 00:28:27,924
just in case they act a fool.

365
00:28:28,645 --> 00:28:34,630
Cause you can't stop them from acting a fool, but you can prepare yourself for their
foolishness.

366
00:28:36,092 --> 00:28:38,474
And so we gonna stay ready.

367
00:28:38,474 --> 00:28:40,094
We ain't got to get ready.

368
00:28:40,635 --> 00:28:42,316
And you gonna be fine.

369
00:28:42,317 --> 00:28:48,442
And you're gonna be so much better on the other side of that time that you taking for
yourself.

370
00:28:48,502 --> 00:28:53,066
And if you are like me and you believe in higher power,

371
00:28:53,260 --> 00:28:54,571
Jesus is my homeboy.

372
00:28:54,571 --> 00:28:56,653
I practice Christianity.

373
00:28:56,653 --> 00:29:10,164
I'm here to tell you, that time off and convening with God and putting your eye back on
that spirituality and that faith, it'll change your whole life.

374
00:29:10,445 --> 00:29:12,145
And you deserve that.

375
00:29:12,146 --> 00:29:15,468
So if you believe, take that too.

376
00:29:16,069 --> 00:29:22,144
Take that as time to do things in your house of worship and like...

377
00:29:22,830 --> 00:29:26,670
get more involved and feed your soul in that way too.

378
00:29:26,670 --> 00:29:30,170
And I should have probably said that first, Lord forgive me.

379
00:29:30,350 --> 00:29:36,250
But yeah, like you deserve to take breaks.

380
00:29:36,250 --> 00:29:38,730
You deserve time off.

381
00:29:38,770 --> 00:29:40,150
You deserve all those things.

382
00:29:40,150 --> 00:29:41,850
And we have a tool.

383
00:29:41,850 --> 00:29:44,310
We have a tool called FMLA.

384
00:29:44,590 --> 00:29:46,330
Use it.

385
00:29:46,710 --> 00:29:48,710
Use the tool.

386
00:29:49,410 --> 00:29:52,370
Please use the tool.

387
00:29:52,734 --> 00:29:55,156
Use everything at your disposal.

388
00:29:55,517 --> 00:29:57,839
Don't leave nothing out, okay?

389
00:29:57,839 --> 00:29:58,940
And don't be afraid.

390
00:29:58,940 --> 00:30:02,643
I know a lot of people, probably hear, but they let you go.

391
00:30:02,643 --> 00:30:03,984
So they can let you go.

392
00:30:03,984 --> 00:30:06,516
Yes, they can let you go for anything at any time.

393
00:30:06,516 --> 00:30:09,088
It's at will employment.

394
00:30:09,369 --> 00:30:20,336
But if they let you go the day you get back from medical leave and you weren't on a PIP
and it's not in the midst of layoffs,

395
00:30:20,428 --> 00:30:33,029
And even if it is in the midst of layoffs, again, they gonna have to prove that they
decided to eliminate your position before they found out you went on leave.

396
00:30:33,470 --> 00:30:38,624
That's hard to prove, especially if you go on leave and there wasn't no layoffs in sight.

397
00:30:40,238 --> 00:30:42,916
So let's talk about the best time to go on leave.

398
00:30:49,166 --> 00:30:52,446
Best times to go on leave.

399
00:30:52,866 --> 00:30:56,246
Pay attention to your company, the cyclical nature.

400
00:30:56,246 --> 00:31:03,346
There are some companies, I ain't gonna name no names, but there are some companies that
have layoffs and restructures every 18 months.

401
00:31:04,066 --> 00:31:08,966
And if that makes you angry or hit, dog, or holler, I don't know what to tell you.

402
00:31:08,966 --> 00:31:16,086
But every 18 months, y'all restructuring and laying people off, giving packages, like that
has become your business strategy.

403
00:31:16,086 --> 00:31:17,386
That's lame.

404
00:31:17,422 --> 00:31:21,182
But I digress, if you work for one of these lame companies, here's what you do.

405
00:31:21,182 --> 00:31:26,882
You plan your leave in that cycle.

406
00:31:27,762 --> 00:31:31,942
So let's say, I'm gonna throw some dates out.

407
00:31:31,942 --> 00:31:34,382
Let's say there's rumblings.

408
00:31:34,382 --> 00:31:39,662
So you start to hear the rumblings, like, oh, they gonna do this restructuring thing
again.

409
00:31:40,086 --> 00:31:46,148
If you start to hear the rumblings, that means they probably haven't finalized decisions.

410
00:31:46,148 --> 00:31:49,289
They just decided they're gonna lay people off.

411
00:31:49,609 --> 00:31:51,320
Hurry up and get in there then.

412
00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:56,400
Because then they won't be able to say that they decided before you went on leave.

413
00:31:56,400 --> 00:31:59,833
The only thing they decided was, we're gonna lay some people off.

414
00:31:59,833 --> 00:32:01,753
But they haven't decided which departments.

415
00:32:01,753 --> 00:32:04,884
If you start hearing what departments, then hold.

416
00:32:05,258 --> 00:32:10,639
stick around and find out what they, if they give in package, maybe you want to take one
of the packages or whatever.

417
00:32:10,940 --> 00:32:23,994
Now, if you do want to take one of the packages, what you can do is now that you know that
there will be layoffs, you could take your FMLA and then they still have to pay you

418
00:32:23,994 --> 00:32:24,624
through that.

419
00:32:24,624 --> 00:32:28,635
So let's say what you want to try to do, you want to try to time this right.

420
00:32:28,635 --> 00:32:30,226
And so this gets tricky.

421
00:32:30,226 --> 00:32:32,110
If you can find out

422
00:32:32,110 --> 00:32:38,633
through the grapevine what they're thinking the last day of work would be for people that
are letting go and restructuring.

423
00:32:38,633 --> 00:32:49,778
What you can do is you can put in for your FMLA, you can time it to where you still get
your FMLA and then you just don't have a job to come back to.

424
00:32:49,778 --> 00:32:57,461
So like, let's say March of 2025, we'll say March, they're like, March 31st will be
everybody's last day.

425
00:32:57,461 --> 00:33:00,502
Then you go ahead and you file for FMLA.

426
00:33:00,780 --> 00:33:04,052
at the beginning of March for eight weeks.

427
00:33:04,052 --> 00:33:07,305
And according on policies, you may get away with this.

428
00:33:07,305 --> 00:33:08,826
Now this one's iffy, right?

429
00:33:08,826 --> 00:33:17,071
Like it's just according on how things are set up, but you probably could get away with,
okay, I'm on leave until this.

430
00:33:17,071 --> 00:33:19,323
And so you have to pay me out the insurance.

431
00:33:19,323 --> 00:33:24,566
Because again, the short-term disability is not income, it's an insurance policy.

432
00:33:24,727 --> 00:33:29,550
And it will stay in effect past them letting you go.

433
00:33:29,728 --> 00:33:31,939
unless they change the policy.

434
00:33:31,939 --> 00:33:37,601
So double check your policies, double check all the things.

435
00:33:37,601 --> 00:33:46,945
And the cool thing is these are questions you can ask the third party administrator and
they'll never go back until your company you ask these questions.

436
00:33:47,126 --> 00:33:49,217
It's law, it's medical stuff.

437
00:33:49,217 --> 00:33:50,257
Like they can't do that.

438
00:33:50,257 --> 00:33:52,898
That's why they have a third party handling everything.

439
00:33:52,898 --> 00:33:56,470
It's a liability that they're trying to weigh.

440
00:33:56,470 --> 00:33:57,230
Cause if...

441
00:33:57,230 --> 00:34:03,410
If they didn't have to worry about the liability and the shadiness, they wouldn't have a
third party company.

442
00:34:03,410 --> 00:34:04,990
They wouldn't pay that money.

443
00:34:04,990 --> 00:34:10,430
But because of all the things that could go wrong, they're mitigating risk with the third
party.

444
00:34:10,430 --> 00:34:12,950
So you can ask the third party all the questions.

445
00:34:12,950 --> 00:34:19,470
Just be cautious what you say to the third party, because to the third party, you are
sick, okay?

446
00:34:19,670 --> 00:34:22,650
You are sickly, and that's why you say you can't leave.

447
00:34:22,650 --> 00:34:24,170
You are not well.

448
00:34:24,170 --> 00:34:27,150
You're just well enough to get this paperwork to them.

449
00:34:27,342 --> 00:34:30,082
And you're just well enough to fill out stuff.

450
00:34:30,942 --> 00:34:32,622
Other than that, you're not well.

451
00:34:32,622 --> 00:34:33,242
Okay.

452
00:34:33,242 --> 00:34:34,702
You're not well.

453
00:34:35,322 --> 00:34:37,082
You need a break.

454
00:34:37,702 --> 00:34:39,382
But now what's the policy?

455
00:34:39,382 --> 00:34:41,202
Let me make sure I understand.

456
00:34:41,362 --> 00:34:42,362
Okay.

457
00:34:42,462 --> 00:34:43,522
All right.

458
00:34:43,522 --> 00:34:46,262
So hopefully this was helpful.

459
00:34:46,262 --> 00:34:55,822
I've been waiting a long time to do an episode like this, to break all this down because I
don't think companies take too kindly to us taking care of ourselves.

460
00:34:56,406 --> 00:34:57,846
unfortunately.

461
00:34:57,867 --> 00:35:04,691
And so if it's them or you, it better be them and not you.

462
00:35:04,691 --> 00:35:07,552
You better pick yourself every time.

463
00:35:08,052 --> 00:35:09,953
They can be disappointed.

464
00:35:10,033 --> 00:35:12,014
Don't disappoint yourself.

465
00:35:13,015 --> 00:35:14,415
Take your leave.

466
00:35:15,096 --> 00:35:18,197
Until next time, guys, keep it real.

467
00:35:24,994 --> 00:35:30,979
Well guys, that's a wrap on another great episode of the Career Management Podcast for
Black Women.

468
00:35:30,979 --> 00:35:33,060
Yes, girl, this Show is just for you.

469
00:35:33,060 --> 00:35:43,709
We're here to tell you how to play that chessboard at work, So, subscribe, comment, like,
follow us on social media at TrillinBAShow.

470
00:35:43,709 --> 00:35:54,380
Listen, every time you tell one of your friends, you share this information, you share
this podcast, it helps us to grow and make even more dope content.

471
00:35:54,380 --> 00:35:57,291
just for you, unapologetically.

472
00:35:57,311 --> 00:35:58,812
That's why we're here.

473
00:35:58,852 --> 00:36:11,878
Now, if you are facing a workplace dilemma, such as a performance improvement plan, or
you're not able to secure your promotion and raise that you have worked for and you have

474
00:36:11,878 --> 00:36:18,401
deserved, basically, if these people are play playing in your face, we are here to help.

475
00:36:18,401 --> 00:36:21,794
Go to Trillinba.com slash coaching.

476
00:36:21,794 --> 00:36:28,617
to schedule a one-time one-on-one call to workshop your specific dilemma with me.

477
00:36:28,717 --> 00:36:37,260
Or schedule a consult to get more information about the consulting packages that I do
offer on a longer-term basis.

478
00:36:37,260 --> 00:36:44,323
As always, you can reach out to us with your listener letters and your questions at
trillmba.com.

479
00:36:44,323 --> 00:36:48,845
Until next time, guys, focus on your best possible outcome.

480
00:36:48,845 --> 00:36:50,892
Ask for help when you need it.

481
00:36:50,892 --> 00:36:52,966
Please, please, please ask for help.

482
00:36:52,966 --> 00:36:55,632
And as always, keep it true.

483
00:36:55,632 --> 00:36:57,334
I'll see y'all next week.