The Family and Medical Leave Act provides extended leave time for qualifying workers. The FMLA can feel like a godsend to individuals who need extra time off because of health concerns for themselves or their immediately family but cannot risk losing their jobs due to excessive absences. Of course, not all employers take the FMLA into account and may violate the law by firing a worker who has missed several days.
Michigan readers may be interested in a case in another state involving FMLA violations. According to reports, an employee had taken multiple days off from work and accrued disciplinary attendance points as a result. When the points reached a certain point, the public transit agency for which the person worked fired the employee.
Details on how the investigation began were not given, but the U.S. Department of Labor looked into the worker’s case. The Wage and Hour Division conducted an investigation and determined that the transit agency violated the FMLA by firing the worker because the time off should have been protected under the act. As a result of the investigation and discovered violations, the transit agency rehired the worker and provided back pay for wages lost while the person was unable to work.
Workers do need to meet certain stipulations when qualifying for FMLA leave, but if Michigan workers do qualify and suffer disciplinary action for taking leave, their employers may have violated the law. When this happens, workers may not fully understand their options. Luckily, they can reach out to employment law attorneys experienced in handling this type of issue to gain information on their best courses of action.