The statistics of employment rose by 517,000 in January 2023. This is about a 3.5% increase from the last record in the United States.
There are about 158 million people employed in the United States. These statistics give an insight into the fact that people are actively employed. It might involve working tirelessly without getting a break to pause and rest.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) has brought that balance to people’s busy lives. The FMLA allows people to take leave from work for family and health reasons. It is, however, important that employers do not err in the law and are in compliance with the FMLA. Thus, it is important to involve employment law lawyers. It is the role of an employment law lawyers to ensure you are compliant with the requirements of the FMLA. This gives you legal protection against any adversity in future with your employees.
In this article, we will examine the FMLA, its role in employment law and how employers and employees are protected under the FMLA Act.
Essence of the Family and Medical Leave Act
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Employees could not handle their family and medical problems before the FMLA. It was difficult because employers denied leave requests and some employees were fired when they went ahead and took the leave. It was a challenging time for employees. The establishment of the FMLA in 1993 brought about a balance in work and family life.
The FMLA mandates employers to grant 12 weeks of unpaid leave to their employees. This provision applies not just to every employer but only those with fifty or more employees. It is a leave granted for family and medical reasons. For example, it is granted for maternity leave, treating a sick family member and so on.
The FMLA ensures that employers do not discriminate against an employee taking a family and medical leave. Such employees must be allowed back at work with no form of discrimination. The employee must also be provided equal benefits at work.
Employees Protection Under the FMLA
The FMLA entitles employees to the following categories of leave:
- 12 weeks leave in a year for the following;
- maternity leave
- care of newly adopted children and placement of a child for adoption.
- caring for the employee’s health and their family members that are ill.
- 26 weeks leave in a year to take care of your military family members that sustained a serious injury or are sick.
Although the FMLA leave is unpaid, employees are still entitled to health care benefits from their employer.
The FMLA protects employees by ensuring they are reinstated in the same job once the leave ends. This means they do not suffer because they took leave. They continue to enjoy the same work hours, job responsibilities and work conditions.
Employees are also protected from discrimination at work when they reincorporate from leave.
Employers Legal protection Under the Family and Medical Leave Act
The FMLA also promotes the interests of employers. It is a mandatory requirement that the employer must have fifty or more employees. The employer must show records that an employee requesting leave has the right to FMLA leave.
This protects the employer by not granting leave to just anyone that requests it. It ensures the leave is granted to the employee deserving of it. The essence of the records is to show that such an employee has fulfilled the requirement of working for 1,250 hours. You cannot prove an employee is entitled to FMLA leave without these records. The records must include the following:
- Employee name and address
- Job position
- Salary
- Previously requested FMLA leave
Another way the FMLA protects the interests of the employer is by getting a notice period from the employee. It is required by the FMLA for employees to give a 30-day notice before taking the FMLA leave.
This enables the employer to adequately prepare for the leave period. The employer can give the job responsibilities of the employee seeking leave to another person. This ensures there is balance at work and no work suffers because of the absence of an employee.
There are some obligations employers must fulfill regarding FMLA leave. This is why it is essential to involve an employment law lawyer. Fulfilling these obligations protects you legally under the law from non-compliance. Some of these obligations are:
- Promoting a healthy work environment by not discriminating against an employee for taking the FMLA leave.
This prevents an employer from being sued because of FMLA retaliation.
An employer must keep an open mind in managing his employees and the company. This is by acknowledging that every employee deserves some time off from work. They must also guarantee that such employees can have their job back after the leave is concluded. If said job position is not available, they must be given an equivalent role within the same company.
- Sensitization to employees.
Employers must sensitize the employees to their right to leave. They must be informed of the benefits and consequences of the FMLA leave before starting the job. It must be included in the contracts of employment and employee handbooks. This way the employees are better informed and given adequate notice as regards to their leave.
They must also be given eligibility notice. This gives an overview of employees eligible to take leave under the FMLA.
- Duty bound to honor the leave request of employees.
Every employer must honor the leave request of their employees provided such employees meet all the requirements. This prevents any form of work retaliation from the employees for lack of leave. An employer must have valid reasons to deny a leave request.
- Duty to continue to give employees health benefits.
The FMLA requires that employers must continue to give health benefits to employees on leave. If an employee was entitled to health insurance before they left for leave, it must continue during the leave.
Conclusion
On first glance at the Family and Medical Leave Act, it is easy to conclude it favors the employees more. To ensure productivity, an employee must get time off to sort out their problems.
This promotes great work ethics in the company and ensures the employees are at their best. This essentially protects the employer from work hazards and losses that may occur from unproductivity. This is the employment solution established by the FMLA.
