Can I Sue My Employer for Violating the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)?

Has your employer violated the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? If so, you can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor or bring a private lawsuit under section 107 of the FMLA.

The FMLA requires certain employers to provide their workers with 12 weeks of unpaid medical leave for specific life events. Under the federal statute, employees are eligible to take FMLA leave during any one-year period to deal with:

• Sick family members
• Serious illness
• Newborn babies
• New adoptions
• Foster care adoptions

In addition, 12-week leave requests are available to immediate members of military service members who have been deployed for a 12-month period or longer. Military caregivers are given an extended 26-week period of time to care for service members with serious medical conditions.

Those with a qualifying medical condition, anticipating the birth of a child, or with a family member who is suffering from a serious health condition should contact an experienced employment attorney if they are not afforded the full protection of their FMLA rights when requesting a leave of absence.

Who is eligible to file an FMLA lawsuit? 

The FMLA applies to all state, local, and federal employers. A private employer is subject to the FMLA if:

• They have 50 or more employees; and
• The employees are within a 75-mile radius of one another; and
• The employees are employed for 20 or more work weeks during the current or previous calendar year.

On the other hand, employees must also meet specific conditions to be eligible under the FMLA. Eligible employees must establish that they:

• Worked for a covered employer for at least a year
• Worked 1,250 hours in the year before they started FMLA leave
• Worked at a site where 50 or more workers are employed within a 75-mile radius of that worksite

Filing a lawsuit against your employer under the FMLA 

Imagine that you work full time and your spouse has fallen ill with a debilitating form of cancer. You are required to stay at home with your spouse and tend to their needs while they are receiving treatment. You inform your employer of this problem, but they say they can’t spare the time off. They tell you if you take time off, they’ll have to replace you with someone else. Under the FMLA, such conduct is illegal. An employee who faces this situation should:

1. Request medical certification from your spouse’s healthcare provider. The Department of Labor has FMLA forms on their webpage that you can use. You show these forms to your employer who maintains that if you don’t come back to work, you will be replaced.
2. Consider whether or not to file a complaint with the Secretary of Labor, or whether to file a private lawsuit.
3. The Wage and Hour Division of the DOL allows you to file a complaint in person, by mail, or by telephone. An FMLA lawsuit must be brought within two years after the last employer action that violated the FMLA. You have three years to file a complaint if the employer’s violation was willful.

Contact a Tampa FMLA Lawyer Today 

Florin Gray represents the rights of employees who have had their FMLA rights violated by their employer. Call our Tampa FMLA attorneys today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin investigating your case right away.

Source:

dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla/forms