The FMLA typically provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during any 12 month period for an employee or a family member’s “serious health condition”. The employer may also be required to provide “intermittent” leave (separate from the 12 weeks of unpaid leave).
For employees with a spouse, child or parent who is a covered service member, the FMLA may provide up to 26 weeks of FMLA leave in a single 12-month period to care for a service member who is recovering from a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty while on active duty.
The employer must have 50 or more employees in a 75 mile radius. And the employee must have at least 1,250 hours of service and 12 months of employment.
The FMLA provides for recovery of lost wages, benefits, and actual monetary losses; reinstatement to the same (or an equivalent) position; continuation of health insurance while on FMLA leave; and in some instances the opportunity to take paid time off.
The FMLA prohibits an employer from retaliating against any employee for using the FMLA. To prove FMLA Retaliation, the individual must show: (1) he/she used (or sought to use) the FMLA; (2) the employer took action against the employee that a reasonable employee would have found materially adverse; and, (3) there is a causal connection between these two actions.
A company also may not retaliate against any employee for opposing FMLA discrimination or participating in protected activities, including complaints or investigations of FMLA discrimination. An employer has also engaged in unlawful retaliation under the FMLA if there is: (1) protected opposition to FMLA discrimination or participation in a FMLA proceeding; (2) adverse action by the employer subsequent to or contemporaneous with such protected activity; and, (3) a causal connection between such activity and the employer’s adverse action.
