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Family & Medical Leave Act: FMLA Lawyer in Philadelphia and Mt Laurel

Protecting Your Right to FMLA Leave

Many employees are not aware of their rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act or FMLA. If you or one of your close family members becomes ill you have a right under federal law to up to twelve (12) weeks leave from your job under the FMLA. During that period of time, your employer is prohibited from harassing you or trying to prevent you from taking leave. And, when you return from leave, you are entitled to get your job back. To learn more, reach out to our FMLA lawyers today.

If you feel your FMLA rights may have been violated anywhere in New Jersey or Pennsylvania, or if you would like to ask about your rights under the FMLA, please contact our offices immediately at 215-694-8885 to speak with a Philadelphia FMLA attorney.

Eligibility for FMLA

The Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) provides job security to an employee who is absent from work because of the employee’s own serious health condition or to care for certain family members with serious health conditions.

To Be Eligible to Receive Leave Pursuant to the FMLA, All of the Following Criteria Must Be Met:

  • Your employer must employ at least fifty employees
  • You must have worked at the job for twelve months at the time the leave period would begin
  • You must have worked at least 1,250 hours during that 12-month period

An employee who is eligible may take up to twelve weeks of leave during any 12-month period of time.

Leave Pursuant to the FMLA Can Be Taken for Any of the Following Reasons:

  • The employee’s serious health condition that makes employee unable to perform the essential functions of the position
  • A serious health condition of the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent
  • The birth of son or daughter, or to care for such child
  • The placement of a son or daughter with the employee for adoption or foster care

The employer may require the employee to provide medical certification to establish the existence of a serious health condition to take FMLA leave.

Generally, at the end of leave, employees must be reinstated to the same or an equivalent job. The employer must maintain health plan benefits for an employee on FMLA on the same basis as if the employee were actively employed, and all benefits, including those that lapsed during leave, must be restored immediately upon the employee’s return to work.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

The FMLA also allows employees to take “intermittent” leave. This occurs when an employee takes leave in separate blocks of time due to a serious health condition. An example is an employee being allowed to leave early on certain days to see the doctor and taking two or three days off after surgeries due to his or her condition.

Employers are required to provide specific information to employees who request leave pursuant to the FMLA. The employer has a duty to respond to questions from employees about their FMLA rights and responsibilities. If your employer fails to adequately inform you of your rights under the FMLA, they may be acting in violation of that law. Contact our FMLA attorneys in Philadelphia and Mt Laurel to learn more.

Our Philadelphia FMLA Attorneys are Experts in FMLA Law

The FMLA provides unpaid job-protected leave (with full medical benefits) to care for your spouse, child or parent who has a serious medical condition, or when you are unable to work because of your own serious health condition. This leave may be taken all at once or intermittently as the medical condition requires. Employers are required to inform employees of their FMLA rights. If the employee doesn’t request FMLA leave specifically, they are still entitled to it if they express the need to take time off for medical reasons to their employer. If your employer fails to do this, consult with a Philadelphia FMLA lawyer to assess the strength of your possible FMLA claim. A Philadelphia FMLA attorney can represent you if you take legal action against your employer.

Consult a Philadelphia FMLA Attorney When FMLA Violations Occur

There several ways employers violate FMLA law while employees are on leave or upon their return. While employers may communicate with employees while they are on leave, it is illegal to pressure employees to return sooner than planned, or to check in on employees excessively. In addition, employers may not count FMLA time off against an employee or give an employee a bad performance review based on work that wasn’t completed during the leave. In terms of reinstatement after the leave, the employer must give the employee an equivalent position (equivalent in pay, benefits, duties, etc.) if their former position is no longer available. In addition, employees must be reinstated immediately and not asked to wait for the employer to shuffle schedules or for a job to become available. Automatic raises and benefits must be reinstated immediately upon return without having to wait for an open enrollment window. A Philadelphia FMLA attorney can help determine your best legal options and recommend the best way forward, including trying to negotiate a settlement with your employer, filing a complaint with the Department of Labor, or filing a lawsuit. State laws may offer more protection than federal law. Contact our Mount Laurel FMLA lawyers at 856-778-9700 to learn more.

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Philadelphia, PA 19147
Phone: 215-694-8885
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The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.

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