Family Medical Leave Act

Gillespie, Shields & Durrant

What is the Family Medical Leave Act?

In 1993, Congress passed the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which states that employees are to be permitted 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 child
• the employee needs to provide special medical care for a spouse, child or parent with a serious medical condition
• the employee is unable to work because of a serious or debilitating medical condition.

If an individual meets any of these criteria, employers are required by federal law to accommodate his or her employee's needs with an unpaid leave of absence. Moreover, the FMLA requires that all employers meet two conditions, namely: that the employee be allowed to keep his or her current position upon returning to work (or obtain an equivalent position), and that the employee is entitled to retain his or her health benefits while on a leave of absence. Therefore, under the FMLA, employees are protected from being demoted for exercising their rights, and are permitted to continue to pay their health insurance premiums and thus retain their benefits.

Any employers who fail to accommodate requests for medical leave or who discriminate against individual who are seeking it are in direct violation of the Family Medical Leave Act. If this occurs, the employee has the right to file a complaint with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He or she should also consider seeking the assistance of a professional employment law attorney.

Arizona Family Medical Leave Act Firm

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

If you have been subjected to illegal treatment in the workplace, now is the time to contact the experienced Phoenix attorneys at Gillespie, Shields & Durrant.