Congress enacted the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in 1993 to accommodate the important societal interest of assisting families by establishing a minimum labor standard for a leave of absence from the job for medical reasons. To protect that interest, the FMLA contains two distinct provisions. First, it makes it “unlawful for any employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of or the attempt to exercise, any right provided under” the FMLA. A claim arising under that provision is known as an “interference” claim. Second, the FMLA makes it “unlawful for any employer to discharge or in any  [ Read More ]

by The HR Specialist: Employment Law on July 20, 2012 1:00pm in FMLA Guidelines,Human Resources Here’s something to watch out for when approving a supervisor’s recommendation to discipline or discharge an employee. If the employee has re­­quested FMLA leave and was previously performing well, be suspicious of claims that she’s now performing poorly. It’s certainly possible that her performance dipped. But it’s also possible that her supervisor resented her leave request. Firing her under those circumstances may mean losing an FMLA retaliation and interference lawsuit. Recent case: Candice worked as a teller at an Illinois bank and received good performance  [ Read More ]

Coleman v. Court of Appeals of Maryland and FMLA By Verdict Legal Analysis and Commentary from Justia | Justia.com These days, all eyes are (understandably) focused on the recently concluded Supreme Court oral arguments in the challenge to the Affordable Care Act. Yet the Justices quietly handed down another case in the last few weeks, Coleman v. Court of Appeals of Maryland, in which the central attack on a federal statute was in some respects similar to the attack on Obamacare. Both cases raise the central question whether Congress lacked enumerated power to pass a particular statute. In Coleman, a  [ Read More ]

DOL Web Pages on This Topic Laws & Regulations on This Topic The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides certain employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year. It also requires that their group health benefits be maintained during the leave. FMLA is designed to help employees balance their work and family responsibilities by allowing them to take reasonable unpaid leave for certain family and medical reasons. It also seeks to accommodate the legitimate interests of employers and promote equal employment opportunity for men and women. FMLA applies to all public agencies, all public and  [ Read More ]