A Bradenton, Florida, retail store paid a former employee $8,787 following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division that found the company violated the Family and Medical Leave Act. The Columbus, Ohio-based company terminated the worker’s employment for absences from work that should have been protected as FMLA leave because the employee was taking the time off to care for a seriously ill child.
The investigation found that the retailer failed to properly provide the employee with the required FMLA eligibility and designation notices. The firm then disciplined the employee by writing her up for tardiness and absences. It ultimately fired her for violating the company’s attendance policy, although the time off met the qualifying criteria for the FMLA.
The FMLA provides eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave due to their own or a family member’s serious health condition and other specified family and medical reasons, with continuation of health care coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave. Leave may be taken all at one time, or may be taken from time to time as the medical condition requires. An employer is prohibited from interfering with, restraining, or denying the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any FMLA right. Prohibited conduct includes refusing to authorize FMLA leave for an eligible employee.
FMLA code is complex and fines are costly. We can help. FMLAMatters helps employers decipher the complexity of FMLA administration, limits their risk, and reduces their workload. To learn more about FMLAMatters, visit www.tasconline.com.
