Alabama Family Medical Leave Act Attorney

FMLA

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) allows covered employees to take job-protected leave for certain family or medical circumstances. When your employer doesn’t allow you to take FMLA approved leave from work, they are violating federal law.

Why Might Someone Need FMLA?

You can opt to take leave for the following reasons:



1. Taking care of your child after giving birth.
2. Taking care of your spouse, parent, or child who has a serious health condition.
3. Taking time to treat a serious health condition of your own.

This is granted by your employer and it is your right to take leave as long as you meet the requirements to do so under the FMLA requirements. If your employer does not let you take this leave they can get in serious trouble, and you have a right to a claim. You can opt for unpaid leave.

Making a Plan for Legal Action

You can take legal action if your employer does one of the following:



• Refuses to grant you rights to FMLA regulated leave.
• Fires you or discriminates against you for bringing concerns forward about your leave not being granted.

The Justice Law Firm, LLC will help you make a plan of action. You will know exactly what you need to do to start your claim. You will get a step-by-step plan on how to take legal action against your employer.

How FMLA is Enforced

The FMLA is enforced by the US Department of Labor’s employment standards administration. It is in the wage and hour division. Whether you were working for the state, working for the government or working for a private business, these federal regulations are there to protect your rights.

We can take your claim to the US Department of Labor. They can investigate. Also, you can work with your attorney to file a lawsuit against your employer for violating your rights. That’s what we do best. We can set you on the path to success.



You Are Protected from Retaliation

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) permits an employee to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for pregnancy complications, maternity or paternity leave, care of the employee’s own serious health condition, or care of an immediate family member (spouse, child, parent) who has a serious health condition. A serious health condition entitling an employee to FMLA leave is any illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves inpatient care or continuing treatment by a healthcare provider.



Eligibility for FMLA

These are the requirements to take FMLA leave:



• You have worked for your employer for at least one year.
• You have worked for your employer for at least 1,250 hours over the past year before you went on leave.
• You work in a company that has at least 50 workers who work within 75 miles of the workplace.

The FMLA protects you from being fired, passed up for a promotion, or being demoted by your employer based on your leave requirement. You have the options of getting reinstated in the company and getting benefits from winning a lawsuit. That would include your lost wages, lost benefits, or any other damages you faced because of this experience.

Notice Requirements

You have to put your employer on notice for your leave. Typically speaking you don’t have to say that this leave is specifically related to FMLA. You do have to let them know exactly why you need to take leave. Your employer has to give you this leave as it is legally protected.

You have to give your job at least 30 days of advanced notice if you know that you will need to take leave. Obviously, this isn’t possible in emergency situations of course. That is the exception to this rule. Your employer does have the right to ask you why you are taking emergency FMLA leave to make sure that it is protected by the law.