On FMLA, boss harassed me and my job was just posted as available

I am on a LOA for a surgery I had last week. I am not due to return to work until 11/5. Short term disability is still pending my doctor submitting paperwork. For the most part, people from work have left me alone while I'm recovering. Today that all changed.

Early this morning a coworker I often converse with casually called me and was talking about various things going on at her location (she is a manager at one store and I am a manager at another store). It was casual, and the first conversation I have had with anyone beyond texts from coworkers asking how I am. She mentioned she was going to my location to meet with my boss and teach my assistant manager some things. The call ended and was uneventful.

Maybe 30 minutes later my assistant manager texts me 'Hi,if you are okay to talk can you please give me a call.'. I gave her a call, not really sure why, but not expecting it to be anything serious. She hasn't contacted me much while I have been out on leave. The second I pick up she tells me she is going to put me on speaker, and that my boss is there. He begins to start questioning me on my location being very over on payroll and why, and how it could happen. I am flustered at this ambush, and confused because one of our employees quit the day I went in for surgery and there have been numerous callouts as well. I explain it doesn't make sense and we should be under payroll if anything, and he continues to go on stating he reviewed everything and we are over. Flustered, I state I will try to look into it (I literally have no visability to anything payroll related while on leave), and start to get emotional (I'm on a lot of meds and have had some complications from surgery), and say 'something must be wrong I never fuck up with payroll'. I then apologize for my language and state I am not doing well right now and then end the call.

After the call I am pretty angered at how inappropriate it was to call me while on a leave of absence and start questioning me on things I can't possibly resolve while on leave. I decided to look on our companies internal hiring board to see if there are other locations nearby with the same postion open, so I could maybe work under a different manager. My exact position, at my location is listed as available. My boss posted my job on the hiring website while I am on an FMLA. I have only been out on leave for 5 days.... I want to contact HR but I am seriously concerned about retaliation. I am not sure what to do. I am pretty sure I am coming back to a write up at minimum for the payroll, but possibly termination given my job is posted.

Jobadvisor

I’m really sorry you’re dealing with this — what you’re describing is both unprofessional and very likely illegal under federal law (assuming your leave is FMLA-protected). Let’s break down what’s going on and what steps you can take safely.

✅ Key Legal Points

If you are on approved or pending FMLA leave, your employer:

Cannot require you to perform work while on leave.
Cannot discipline or terminate you for being on leave.
Cannot replace you because you took leave.
Must restore you to the same or an equivalent role upon return.

Posting your job while you are on leave is a major red flag.
This can be strong evidence of FMLA interference and retaliation, which are both illegal under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Additionally, the call your boss made:

Pressuring you to answer work-related questions,
And especially involving performance discussions or accusations,

can also count as interference.

🚩 Your Boss’s Conduct

His behavior checks multiple unlawful boxes:

Behavior	Why It’s a Problem
Calling you to question performance while on leave	FMLA interference (you are not required to work while out)
Posting your job	Strong evidence of retaliation for taking leave
Potential plan to discipline you	Illegal if connected to leave

✅ What You Should Do Right Now

Document everything. Quietly. Don’t confront anyone yet.

Write down:

Date and time of the call.
Who was present.
What was said—especially your statement about being unwell and their continuing.
Take a screenshot of the job posting showing your position and location.
Keep any texts, emails, call logs.

Store this somewhere not on your work device or account.

☎️ Next Step: Contact HR — Carefully

When you contact HR, keep the tone neutral, factual, and do not accuse yet (accusations early can trigger defensiveness or retaliation). Your goal is to establish a formal record that you:

Are on FMLA leave,
Were contacted to perform work,
Discovered your job posted.

Here is a template you can use:

Subject: Concern Regarding FMLA Leave and Position Posting

Hello [HR Name],

I am currently on approved medical leave/FMLA. Earlier today I was contacted by [Boss Name] and asked to address operational issues at my store, which I am unable to do while I’m on leave and without access to internal systems.

Additionally, I noticed that my position at my location has been posted as an open role. I am concerned about how this aligns with FMLA job protection.

I would appreciate clarification and confirmation that my job is protected and that I will be restored to the same or equivalent position when I return on 11/5.

Thank you,
[Your Name]

This creates documentation of FMLA interference in writing.

🛡️ If HR is unhelpful

You can contact:

U.S. Department of Labor – Wage and Hour Division
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla
They will investigate for free, no lawyer needed, and retaliation for reporting is also illegal.
Employment attorney (many do free consultations)
Look for one specializing in FMLA / wrongful termination.

💡 Very Important

Do not quit and do not say anything that sounds like resignation.
If you quit, you lose your legal protections.

🧭 Summary

You are right to be alarmed. What your employer is doing is:

Highly inappropriate
Likely illegal retaliation
Something you should document and report

You are in a strong legal position, especially because this happened days into leave — that looks very bad for them.

Scared of choosing the wrong path, extremely perfectionistic personality.

I'm 25 and very perfectioniistic. That means if I make a plan, regardless of how good it is, I will keep overthinking it and thinking about alternatives.

That means if I have a wonderful job, I might enjoy the job and the salary but there will always be a big part of me that keeps overthinking it "there must be jobs that are even better so I should just quit this one and look for an even better job"

The only condition that can turn off my "look for something better" is the knowledge that I'm already doing the best possible thing. For example if I play a solved game of which the best possible strategy is known, then I happily play it without overthinking my strategy because I know there is no better strategy possible. I know I'm doing the right thing right so I feel happy.

If I'm doing something very well but not as good as possible, then I don't feel happy but rather frustrated. Hungry for improvement, so much that it leads to burnouts.

Another unrelated challenge is the fact that almost everything interests me. There are probably thousands of different jobs that all interest me so even if I go to the process of elimination I won't find my dream job that way.

I see 3 options and foresee 3 problems:

Apply to jobs that don't require a degree -> very high chance of ending up unsatisfied and then quitting those jobs and ending back up in the same situation that I'm in now
Study something -> quite a big risk that I partially waste my time and energy by studying something that I will never work in.
Do nothing (which im defaulting to now) -> no progress

ALl 3 options are bad. Pick your poison. I wish I could just be like this people who know as a child instantly what theyr dream job is, and then still go for it as an adult. Something simple like someone being obsessed with trains and then getting a job with trains.

I just don't see any possible way to end up with a job where I don't constantly overthink if better alternatives exist.

What are good ways for me to ultimately have a job and not 24/7 overthink "should I quit this job and find something better"

Jobadvisor

First — nothing about you is “broken.” What you’re describing is a combination of:

• Perfectionistic thinking (“There must be one best option, and I can’t choose until I find it.”)
• Maximizer decision style (always searching for the best rather than “good enough.”)
• High openness / broad interests (you genuinely could enjoy many things—so your brain keeps generating new possibilities.)

These traits are not the problem by themselves. The problem is the belief that happiness requires picking the single best possible job.

That belief is what traps you.

The Core Misbelief

“I will only feel satisfied if I know my choice is the optimal one.”

This works in chess. Or math. Or puzzles.
But life doesn’t have a solved strategy. There is no global leaderboard of Most Optimal Job for You at Age 25 that you can consult.

Your mind is trying to solve a non-solvable problem (and it knows it), so it keeps cycling.

This is why you get stuck.

The Shift That Sets This Type of Personality Free

You don't need to find the best path.

You need a path that:

Fits your values and strengths
Keeps your growth and curiosity needs met
Remains adjustable over time

Think of your career as a series of experiments, not a single decision.

This removes the pressure of finality.

**A Job That Will Never Feel “Good Enough”**

You will always overthink if your career structure is:

static
finite
repetitive
has limited improvement paths

If a job has a ceiling, your brain will always say:

“Okay, what’s next?”

So the solution is not to pick the right job —
The solution is to pick a field where improvement never runs out.

You need an infinite game.

Fields like:

Infinite Growth Fields	Why They Work for Perfectionists
Software, engineering, data	Endless skill depth + new problems forever
Medicine / therapy / research	Knowledge is always expanding
Entrepreneurship	You define your own optimization target
Design / art / writing	There is no final “best” form — growth is intrinsic

Your brain relaxes not when something is perfect
but when you know there is always meaningful room to grow.

You don’t actually want the best job — you want a job that can’t be perfected.

You Also Need a Role Where Switching Interests is Normal

Because you have broad interests,
you’d do badly in careers that require sticking to one narrow lane forever.

But you'd do well in roles where curiosity is a strength:

Research roles
Consulting
Product management
Data science
Software + side projects
UX research
Teaching / coaching
Freelancing across multiple clients

These roles expect you to keep learning — so your brain’s “what if there’s something better?” becomes an advantage, not sabotage.

The Decision-Making Trick That Stops Overthinking

Replace “Is this the best option?” with:

“Does this direction increase my future options?”

This is the compass for high-openness, perfectionistic minds.

Ask yourself:

Question	Why it Matters
Does this choice teach skills that are valuable in many places?	Protects against “wasted time” fear
Does this path allow me to grow indefinitely?	Prevents burnout and boredom
Can I change lanes later if needed?	Reduces the pressure to pick perfectly

When the answer is yes, the choice becomes safe enough to commit to.

You Don’t Need to Know the Job Yet. You Need to Know the Direction.

Pick a direction, not a job title:

Example directions:

“I want to work with systems and problem-solving → engineering / data / coding.”
“I like understanding people’s behavior → psychology / UX / research.”
“I enjoy making things from scratch → design / software / entrepreneurship.”

Your first milestone is just to start moving in that direction.
Not to find the final endpoint.

Practical Next Step (This Works Very Well for Your Personality)

Start a 12-week experiment, not a commitment:

Step 1: Pick a direction that seems meaningful
Step 2: Choose one learning path (course, internship, project)
Step 3: Evaluate after 12 weeks using these 3 questions:

Did I enjoy the process itself?
Can I see meaningful growth ahead?
Does this increase my future options?

If yes → continue.
If no → pivot (without guilt).

No life decision wasted.
Everything is data.

And Finally

You are not searching for:

the right job
the job you’ll stick with forever
or the job that is objectively best

You’re searching for:

a field that never runs out of mastery
and supports your curiosity instead of fighting it.

Your mind wants deep work + endless growth + freedom to explore.
Your career should be built around that.

And that is absolutely possible.

Get Hired