Did your dad very suddenly fall very ill? Is he in the hospital or otherwise unable to take care of himself?
If not, I agree with your LOD. Give them a bit more notice.
Bull sh**. This is one of the few areas that TM's actually have target by the balls legally.
The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires that companies let employees leave work (or not go to work) for family medical issues. If a TM has a family member in a serious medical situation, that TM can give one second notice and Target can't touch them. Would it have been nice if the TM gave more notice? Sure. But we don't know the details of the situation or how long this TM knew himself. In any case, the TM is under no legal obligation to provide more notice, and Target is legally required to let the TM off work with zero negative consequences to the TM.
To the OP - hopefully that ETL shut her mouth the moment you told her it was a family medical issue, because if she started trying to pressure you to go to work or implying it would hurt your employment standing in any way, you now have the right to sue under FMLA. Considering Target hires art history majors to run stores (instead of business majors as would be logical), chances are she has never heard of FMLA.
The fmla is for when you have to care for someone who is sick. That is entirely different than visiting someone who is sick. There is a difference here.
<sigh> Yes, the FMLA would also cover caring for someone who is sick, among other things. The FMLA is hundreds of pages long and covers many situations. It does not only cover caring for family that is sick as in physically providing services for them only.
I see, once again, I am going to have to quote from official government websites to make a point about labor law on this forum.
"The most common serious health conditions that qualify for FMLA leave are:
conditions requiring an overnight stay in a hospital or other medical care facility;
conditions that incapacitate you or your family member (for example, unable to work or attend school) for more than three consecutive days and have ongoing medical treatment (either multiple appointments with a health care provider, or a single appointment and follow-up care such as prescription medication);
chronic conditions that cause occasional periods when you or your family member are incapacitated and require treatment by a health care provider at least twice a year; and
pregnancy (including prenatal medical appointments, incapacity due to morning sickness, and medically required bed rest)."
Notice the bolded text applies to this TMs situation.
http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/fmla-faqs.htm
Here are some non-government sites about FMLA covering visiting family the hospital
"Eligible employees can use FMLA time “to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child or parent) with a serious health condition.” The pertinent regulations say that “caring” for a family member encompasses both physical and psychological care.
That includes situations in which, because of a serious health condition, a family member can’t care for his or her own basic medical, hygienic or nutritional needs, or is unable to transport himself or herself to the doctor, etc. It also includes providing psychological comfort and reassurance to the person receiving
inpatient or home care. As such, your employee may use FMLA time to provide psychological comfort (i.e., to visit) a spouse in the ICU."
(note the word "inpatient" above - i.e. hospitalized)
http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/3028/does-fmla-cover-emotional-care-of-spouse-in-icu
"FMLA lets workers take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave:
When the worker can't work because of a serious health condition
To care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition.
Caring for a person includes bathing, feeding, transporting to the doctor, or giving support to a family member (like staying with them while they're in the hospital or to arrange their care). Immediate family members are:"
http://www.canmybossdothat.com/category.php?id=114