New York Employee Rights Lawyers Tough on Employers violating family medical leave act (fmla)

Zealously representing employees punished by employers

Sometimes your most important job becomes caring for a newborn, sick child, parent or other loved one. The US Federal Government recognized this more than 20 years ago when it put into law that employees are entitled to take a leave from employment to care for an immediate family member suffering from a serious health condition. Unfortunately, not all employers are understanding and cooperative about following the guidelines and allowing you take time off to care for them. Our New York employee rights attorneys at Hepworth, Gershbaum & Roth have fought to uphold the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) since 1993. We tenaciously protect your rights to take care of your family in times of need.

What rights does the FMLA provide for employees?

The main inquiries that people have when they come to our office are what types of leave are protected by the FMLA and how long are the leaves of absence allowed. The general rule is that you have 12 workweeks of unpaid leave (you can take 26 work weeks for caring for a family member in the armed services) from an employer that has 50 or more employees. Employers must let you return to work after your leave of absence or else they face consequences. Our employee rights attorneys help New York families enforce the protections of the FMLA so they are able to care for their loved ones.  We advise you of your rights and hold employers accountable when they violate the FMLA by not letting you take a leave of absence for your family.

The FMLA allows employees to take leave for:

• The birth and care of a newborn

• The adoption or foster care of a son or daughter

• Medical leave when you have a serious health condition that makes you unable to work

• Caring for a spouse, child or parent that has a serious health condition

How does an employer violate the FMLA?

Our employee rights attorneys have seen it all when it comes to employers in New York State and across the US violating the FMLA. The most outrageous and obvious violations occur when employers terminate employees for taking a leave of absence.  Most employers try to retaliate against you subtly. Regardless of the type of retaliation, any form of interference or discrimination based on exercising your rights under the FMLA is a violation of the law. Some of the most common examples of FMLA violations include:

• Requiring more notice for time off than necessary — Employers are only allowed to make up their own time off notice policies if the time off is paid.

• Cutting off health insurance benefits — Employers cannot cut off your insurance policy for being late on an insurance premium payment without giving you written notice that you missed a payment.

• Failure to relay the proper information  — There is some information that employers have a legal duty to tell you about when exercising your FMLA rights.

• Disciplining or terminating an employee on leave — Even subtle punishments like poor performance reviews are a violation of the FMLA.

• Not recognizing that an employee has given notice — As long as you tell your employer that you need leave and it is for a covered reason under the FMLA, then you have given them proper notice.

• Demoting employees upon reinstatement — Even if your position was filled while you were on leave, you must be reinstated to an equivalent position upon your return.

• Failure to give the same benefits upon reinstatement — Upon your return, you must be reinstated with the same benefits you had before you went on leave and without delay.

However, proving retaliation is difficult. It requires a team of experienced, detail-oriented employment law attorneys like those at Hepworth, Gershbaum & Roth.

Call today to schedule a free initial consultation with a New York employee rights lawyer to discuss your employer’s FMLA violations

When a loved one needs care, the last thing you should have to worry about is losing your job. The New York FMLA violation attorneys at Hepworth, Gershbaum & Roth protect your rights and hold employers accountable when they violate the FMLA. To schedule a free initial consultation, call us at 212-532-3801 or contact us online.