Can You Sue for FMLA Violations?

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides eligible employees with the right to take unpaid, job-protected leave for certain medical and family reasons. It could be a serious health condition, childbirth, or caring for an immediate family member. 

The U.S. Department of Labor states that the FMLA provides eligible workers with 12 weeks of unpaid leave for every year of their employment while requiring employers to continue their health insurance benefits during this time.

According to Family and Medical Leave Act lawyer Xinying Valerian, it is illegal for employers to retaliate against employees for taking a protected leave. If you believe you are being treated differently for taking a protected leave, you may want to contact an FMLA attorney.

Let’s understand how these protections work. 

Who Is Covered by the FMLA

Not every employee or company falls under the FMLA. Both sides of the employment relationship would have to meet several thresholds to fall under the jurisdiction of the Act.

The Act applies to private sector employers who maintain a workforce of 50 or more employees throughout 20 workweeks within the current or previous calendar year (29 U.S.C. § 2611(4)). All state agencies; farm programs; elementary, primary, or secondary schools; and every federal agency, including the United States Postal Service, are covered organizations under the FMLA, regardless of the number of their employees.

An employee with 12 months or a minimum period of 1,250 hours subsequent to the leave requested under 29 U.S.C. § 2611(2) and employed at a site where there are also at least 50 employees as defined by the same code within 75 miles will be eligible for the FMLA leave. There would be no liability for the employer to provide the leave under FMLA.

Eligible employees are entitled to take 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the following reasons: for their own serious health condition and for their parent or spouse or child who has a serious health condition; for their newly born child who will need care during the first 12 months after birth; and for their adopted or foster child who will need care during the first two 12-month periods after placement. 

Two Types of FMLA Violations: Interference and Retaliation

FMLA claims generally fall into one of two categories, each with a different legal framework.

An interference claim arises when an employer denies, restrains, or otherwise impedes an eligible employee’s exercise of FMLA rights (29 U.S.C. § 2615(a)(1); 29 C.F.R. § 825.220). 

Common examples of this violation occur when an employer wrongfully denies an employee’s leave request and does not recognize their FMLA-approved leave. They may also fail to let an employee return to their original or equivalent position at work or dissuade them from taking their entitled leave. 

When an employee uses FMLA rights, the employer must not take any negative employment action against the employee. Else, their employees can file a case against them.

Examples of retaliation that an employer can take include termination, demotion, reduction in hours, negative performance reviews, or other adverse employment actions. The employee must demonstrate that protected activity caused the negative outcome. They must prove that their employer violated their FMLA rights.

In some cases, if you are found by the government to have misclassified an individual as an independent contractor instead of as an employee, either full- or part-time, there are several consequences you may face. In this case, you could potentially owe the employee unpaid wages, including overtime pay, according to https://www.weisszarett.com/.

Claims for FMLA rank, as a rule, in one of two classes according to the legal framework on which they are based.

Filing Options: DOL Complaint or Private Lawsuit

A two-tiered approach is open to an employee who believes their FMLA rights have been violated through either the filing of a formal complaint with the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor or suing in the same court that administers violations. 

No employee needs to do the Wage and Hour Division procedure as an element of their jurisdiction on FMLA cases. Courts and administrative mechanisms may provide duplicate or independent remedies, depending on the circumstances. 

The employee may proceed to bring suit in any federal or state court of competent jurisdiction (29 USC 2617(a)(2)). The statute of limitations has been set by the FMLA as two years from the date the last event constituting the alleged violation occurred, or three years if the violation was willful (29 USC 2617(c)). 

Missing the proper deadline means any claim no longer has merit, despite whatever grounds it may have been brought on. The process of filing documents demands complete concentration on specific timelines.

Available Remedies

Under 29 U. S. C. § 2617(a), a successful FMLA plaintiff may recover several categories of relief. Lost wages mean all wages due to salary, employment benefits, and other compensation that the plaintiff lost because of the violation. It may include any estimated losses, such as the amounts the plaintiff would have paid out of pocket if he had been required to seek other services to take due care of the children.

A higher amount, as liquidated damages in the sum of the back pay and interest under 29 U.S.C. § 2617(a)(1)(A)(iii), is available; if the employer proves he acted or refrained from doing whatever in a manner of good faith and the employer had reasonable grounds to believe that it was not a violation, the court in its discretion may reduce their liability to the back pay and interest only.

The remedy of reinstatement and promotion is also available under the statute. If reinstatement is foreclosed, courts can award front pay to compensate for future lost earnings. The fees and costs incurred by the prevailing plaintiff are also reimbursable by the employer.

Building a Record Before Filing

Whether pursuing a DOL complaint or a private lawsuit, thorough documentation will significantly strengthen an FMLA claim. The key evidence required includes proof of the original leave request, any written communications supporting the documented leave request, and documentation showing that the employee’s condition was a qualifying medical condition. 

An undated certification by the employee’s attending physician will really be helpful. Mount will require the employer’s designation of such leave, its notice to the employee, any adverse action taken following the request or the use of FMLA leave, and the relevant dates. Full notes taken during phone conversations could be advantageous

Employment attorneys with experience in FMLA litigation can assess the compliance with the necessary eligibility threshold, whether the complained-of conduct falls within either the interference or retaliation subparts, and realistically available remedies to be sought pursuant to the facts.

FMLA gives those eligible to leave both administrative and judicial remedies to counter an employer who denies them leave or punishes them for taking it. Consultation with an attorney would preserve all options and increase the chance of review whenever there is sufficient time to properly reflect on whether or not it is actually being violated.