Family Medical Leave Act

Gillespie, Shields & Durrant

What is the Family Medical Leave Act?

In 1993, Congress passed the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).  According to the FMLA, employees are allowed to take up to a total of 12 work weeks of unpaid leave if one of the following situations develops:

• the employee is giving birth or needs to care for his/her newborn
• the employee is adopting or providing foster care for a son or a daughter
• the employee needs to provide unique medical care for his/her spouse, child or parent who has a serious medical condition
• the employee is unable to work because he/she has developed a serious or debilitating medical condition

If the employee meets one of the aforementioned circumstances, the employee is allowed to take unpaid leave from his/her work.  Employers must accommodate the leave of absence to comply with federal employment laws.  If employers do not accommodate the medical leave or discriminate against an employee for taking or requesting medical leave, they are directly violating the Family Medical Leave Act.  When this happens, the employee may file a complaint with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or seek help from an employment law attorney. 

Additionally, the Family Medical Leave Act requires that all employers meet two conditions.  First, after the employee returns to work from a leave of absence under the FMLA, the employee must be allowed to keep his/her current position or obtain a position that is equivalent.  This means that an employee cannot be demoted for exercising his/her rights under the FMLA.  Second, the employee is entitled to keep his/her health benefits while he/she is on a leave of absence.  The employee may continue to pay his/her health insurance premiums while taking unpaid time away from work under the FMLA. 

Arizona Family Medical Leave Act Firm

Handling Family Medical Leave Act Cases in Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler & Gilbert

If you have been subjected to unlawful treatment at your place of employment, now is the time to get the experienced Phoenix family medical leave act attorneys at Gillespie, Shields & Durrant involved!