Simply put, FMLA retaliation is when an employee regrets taking Family Medical Leave due to the actions of his/her employer. An example would be; after an employee returns from medical leave the employer begins treating the employee differently than they did prior to the employee’s leave, by creating more work for the employee, calling the employee derogatory names, spreading rumors about the employee or discharging the employee for taking medical leave.

These types of cases are increasing throughout the US, and employers and employees need to know that this type of behavior is illegal and can lead to lawsuits. FMLA prohibits employers from taking any retaliatory action against an employee who takes FMLA. If you feel you have been retaliated against for taking FMLA you should contact an attorney to review your case, they can tell you if you have a claim and will likely walk you through the process of working it out.

Family Medical Leave is a federal law, so employers in all states must comply with it, though some states have other types of leave that also benefit employees.

Most employers will require an employee taking FMLA to use their vacation and sick pay as part of FMLA, but some allow an employee to use their vacation THEN their unpaid FMLA time. Check with your employer to find out what their policy is on taking leave.

I started FMLA-Rules.com as a source for the common person to get free advice about their questions regarding the Family Medical Leave Act. My experience in Human Resources gave me the opportunity to provide that input to those in need. I am not an attorney and whenever I have a client ask that question I always tell them the same thing, “Whenever you feel you have been mistreated, go talk to your lawyer and see what they think.” Which is usually followed by, “can you recommend someone?”
The Family Medical Leave Act was enabled to restore rights to those individuals who needed to take time for their own serious medical conditions or those of a close family member, and that’s what it’s there for, so if you feel that you are being mistreated because of you are requesting FMLA or are out on FMLA consult with your legal council, if they feel you case has merit they will tell you.


As for the second part, due to the nation wide publicity that FMLA-Rules.com gets it would be difficult for me to recommend any one firm that would help, especially someone in your area, though recently I was checking out the legal match web site, they offer you help finding a lawyer in your area for free, and for me, free is the right price. When you are on your search for someone just be sure to find someone who specializes in employment law, they will have the best knowledge of the rules and regulations about FMLA and can best represent you for employment law.

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Response:
If your employer based their decision to lay you off because you were on FMLA, then no they can not do that. But if you were included in a group of lay off’s and the criteria in which they used to pick individuals for lay off was one in which you would have been included if you were there, then your employer can in fact lay you off while you are out on leave.

Covered employers must grant an eligible employee up to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for one or more of the following reasons:

* for the birth and care of the newborn child of the employee;
* for placement with the employee of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care;
* to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition; or
* to take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition.
Continue Reading here:
http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/

I am 21 weeks in remission from breast cancer, still have hormonal therapy , doctor and lpab followups every three months with a current diagnosis of cancer. My employer states that I am not eligible for FMLA and that when I took intermittent leavre last year for treatment I was only eligible for 60 days under FMLA. Is this correct?

Response:

Your 12 weeks of leave is generally based on a rolling calendar year, so you would have to wait a full 12 months before the leave would start over, check with your employer to be sure that they use that method.
There were recent changes to FMLA that went into effect as of January 16, 2009 that discussed chronic serious medical conditions, the FAQ published by the Department of Labor explains the changes, and the second question touches on your situation.
http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/finalrule/NonMilitaryFAQs.pdf
Lastly contact your local DOL office to see if there are any state laws that might need to be met prior to taking FMLA.
http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/america2.htm

my son is 7 months, myhusband wanted to take a break from work because he could never get any sleep.Recently he went to hr and they told him he could not take fmla leave cause it needed to be taken with in 3 days of the baby birth. Is this something that the company can do ?

Response:

FMLA does provide bonding time for parents of new born children and adopted children.  The concern that your husbands employer is probably having is that is has now been 7 months since the child was born and the bonding has most likely been established.
I am not an attorney and I do not know the full details of your husband’s employers policies, so I can’t say if vacation or PTO would work.  Discuss the situation with the employer and find out what his options are as most employers are interested in the well being of their employees.

Response:
Many employers will try and burn FMLA whenever they get the chance so you use up your allotment, and many states allow employers to use FMLA and Work Comp time together, thus ensuring no loss in benefits and job security for 12 weeks. You might want to check with the workers comp insurance agency and see if your state has any requirements that don’t allow your company to use comp and FMLA at the same time.