Kentucky Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a Federal law that grants an employee up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off from work if certain conditions are met.
In order to prevail on an interference claim of FMLA, you must be able to establish that 1) you are an eligible employee defined under FMLA, that the defendant employer is defined under FMLA, that you were entitled to leave under FMLA, 4) that you gave your employer notice of intention to take the leave, and 5) that your employer denied FMLA benefits to which you were entitled. If the above 5 criteria were met, then you have a strong FMLA case and you should speak to a FMLA lawyer at the Law Offices of Andrew S. Alitowski.
One of the reasons that there are so many FMLA problems is that the employee usually does not comply with some step that the employer requires in order to qualify for FMLA. What usually occurs it that the employee does not properly fill out some form or properly tell the employer that he or she is seeking FMLA time. Now, when you are going to take FMLA there is no law that you have to say and use the words “FMLA”, but, you are required to give the company notice and you are required to show proof of a serious medical condition. What exactly is a serious medical condition is something that a FMLA lawyer such as Andrew Alitowski, Esq. can help you figure out.
Another major problem that occurs in a FMLA case is when the employee returns from the time off but does not have the same or similar job awaiting him or her. Pursuant to the FMLA an employee shall be entitled to be restored to the position of employment held when employee left or to an equivalent position with equivalent benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment. But, what usually occurs is that the company has filled the position and that there is no new position available for the employee to take. Either that, or the company has gotten rid of the old position entirely and there is no new similar paying position for the employee to take. When this occurs is when the fighting begins. And if this occurs, this is when it is important to speak to a FMLA lawyer such as Andrew Alitowski, Esq..
Further, if you are given your job back and then fired, this could be a retaliatory firing as a result of you taking FMLA leave. What usually occurs is that the employer knows that he or she has to give you your job back and does so. But, then fires you a month or two later, claiming some pre-textual (ie. bogus) reason but in reality is letting you go because he or she was not fond of you taking the FMLA time off. In one recent case a woman worked for a bank for over 27 years. She took FMLA time off and this disrupted the bank. Six months later she was fired. The Court held that she was allowed to sue for FMLA retaliation and argue her case to a jury.
If you have been the subject of a Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) discrimination, please call and speak to a lawyer at the Law Offices of Andrew S. Alitowski at 888-ASK-ANDREW (275-2637) or contact us online. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
If you are injured…Ask Andrew!!!
