Family Medical Leave Act

Under the Federal Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), employees are entitled to take medical leave if they have a “serious health condition” and family leave to care for a family member such as a child, parent or spouse, who has a “serious health condition,” so long as they have been employed, by an employer with more than 50 employees, for more than a year.  Eligible employees are entitled to take as much as 12 weeks off, either “intermittently,” i.e., in days, weeks or even hours, or consecutively.  Unless a company has a policy that provides otherwise, family and medical leaves are unpaid.

At the expiration of a family or medical leave, an employee is entitled to return to his or her former position or an equivalent one, except where the employee would otherwise have lost his job, e.g. in connection with a reduction in force, or a previously made decision to terminate the employee based upon poor performance or misconduct discovered during the employee’s FMLA leave.  The twelve week job protection is not absolute.

Employers may be liable for economic damages if they “interfere” with an employee’s FMLA rights or if they retaliate against an employee for exercising such rights, e.g. by terminating them.

To determine your rights and obtain compensation for violation of your FMLA rights, you need the help of an experienced employment lawyer.  Deutsch Atkins, P.C. is New Jersey’s largest and one of its most highly regarded employee rights law firms with the expertise you need if your FMLA rights have been violated.  If you have been terminated in violation of your FMLA rights, we can protect your rights and maximize your compensation. 

For a consultation with Deutsch Atkins, P.C., call 800.498.0991 or contact us online.