I’ve been trying to find out if I qualify for a hardship, but have yet to find a concrete answer. I’m at a level 6 up/down, Cpc. My ex wife and kids are 9 hours away and closest facility is a level 10. I chose this facility when I got hired as it was the closest to my kids. Staffing at my facility is garbage, nobody is going anywhere anytime soon, but in my case, I only see my kids but twice a year and in my eyes it’s a hardship. The level 10 is ok on manning but projected to be about the same as where I am now. Would I be a good candidate for a hardship?
By the contract, article 99 lists 3 fairly cut and dry reasons for hardship. 1) Medical necessity for you, spouse or dependent children. 2) you or spouse are primary caretaker of a dependent parent.
The last one is the only one you might be able to finagle: 3)
III. Transfer of an employee in case of an estranged family where
dependent children are involved and the transfer of an employee to
a different geographical area would allow the employee to
maintain contact with his or her children. Not all situations of
separation from children will be considered a hardship. In order to
be considered, the geographical separation from the children must
have been involuntary. Factors that should be considered are the
length of time of separation, the age, and health of the children.
---------_
Not sure of the details of your separation/custody, but if you voluntarily took the facility when hired, unless you can come up with a qualifying life change that has happened since being hired, I would say you are probably SOL. Not to mention hardships are limited to a 3 level jump cap, so lvl6 to 10 is a no-go.
Best of luck and hope you get an amicable resolution to your situation.