Some employees have the right to take medical leave if members of their family become sick. The Law Office of Robert Wiley, P.C. represents individuals who have been denied the right to take leave to help a sick family member, or have been retaliated against for taking such leave. If you believe you may have a case, please contact us.

The primary law protecting an employee’s right to care for loved ones is the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Some states offer additional leave rights, such as leave to care for a domestic partner or extended family.

Under the FMLA, a qualifying employee may take leave to care for a spouse, parent, or child. The right to take leave for a child includes adopted children. The right to take leave for a spouse, however, does not include same-sex partners. The FMLA does not include the right to take leave to care for siblings, grandparents or other extended family. If your situation is not covered under the FMLA, you may be still be covered under the law of your state. Some states offer additional leave rights, such as leave to care for a domestic partner or extended family.

Only eligible employees may take FMLA leave. Generally, this means the employee must have (1) been employed for a year or more, (2) worked 1,250 hours in the previous year, and (3) have 50 employees who work within 75 miles of your worksite. There are exceptions to this federal law in the case of certain public agencies and educational institutions. Furthermore, state law may be more broad than the federal requirement.

FMLA leave may be paid or unpaid. Although the law does not require FMLA leave to be paid, an employer may have a policy of paying employees for this leave.

A qualifying employee has a right to up to twelve weeks of FMLA leave in a year. There are different ways of counting the one year period, such as the calendar year or the twelve months prior to the leave request. How the one year period is calculated depends on the employer.

If you are entitled to leave, but your employer does not allow you to take leave, or does not reinstate you to an identical position after the leave, you may have a case for unlawful interference with your leave. Employees who take leave also have the right to be free from retaliation for taking leave

If your employer has interfered with your right to take medical leave to care for a family member, or retaliated against you for taking leave, please contact us immediately.