Introduction to the
Family and Medical Leave Act
Reminder
If you have not read
Introduction to Legal Research and
Introduction to Employment Discrimination Law, you should read these articles first.
Read the
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
If you want to read
the actual federal statutes that make up the Family and Medical Leave Act, click on
FMLA.
Introduction to the FMLA
Technically, the Family and Medical Leave Act
(FMLA) is not an employment discrimination law. Employment discrimination laws are
designed to prevent an employer from treating unfairly persons in certain protected
groups. But instead of telling the employer what actions it cannot take against an
employee, the FMLA tells the employer what actions it must take for the benefit of
an employee. Basically, employees are entitled to take a total of 12 workweeks of leave
(which may be unpaid leave) in a 12 month period for certain family situations or for the
employee's own medical problems.
There are two types of lawsuits which arise under
the FMLA: (1) lawsuits in which the employee claims that the employer did not comply with
the Act; and (2) lawsuits in which the employee claims that the employer retaliated
against him for exercising his rights under the Act.
The biggest difference between the two types of
lawsuits is that the first type does not involve the issue of the employer's intent; while
the second type does. For example, if an employee is entitled to 12 weeks unpaid leave and
the employer does not provide the leave, it does not matter whether or not the employer
intended
to violate the FMLA. The only issue is whether the Act was violated.
On the other hand, if the employee is alleging
that the employer retaliated against him for taking family or medical leave, then the
ultimate issue is whether the employer intended to retaliate or not. There is no
such thing as accidental retaliation.
This article explains the rights and
responsibilities of the employee and the employer under the FMLA.
