What Are Your Rights Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)?

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires certain employers to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave a year to employees who are suffering from serious medical conditions or whose family members are suffering from serious health conditions, as well as maternity/paternity leave to parents who have just given birth and employees who are adopting a child. At Sterling Employment Law, our Detroit Family and Medical Leave Act lawyers help people who have had their FMLA rights violated by their employers.

If you have been refused leave that you are entitled to under the FMLA, speak with our Michigan attorneys as soon as possible. Contact us at 248-633-8916 to schedule an appointment to discuss your case.

Who Is Covered by the FMLA?

Coverage under the FMLA is determined by the size of the employer, the length of employment and the number of hours that the employee has worked over the previous 12 months. Our attorneys can let you know whether you meet the requirements necessary to be eligible for FMLA leave.

When Can You Take FMLA Leave?

An employee is eligible to take FMLA leave if he or she is suffering from a serious medical condition, including pregnancy-related conditions. An employee may also take leave to care for a seriously ill family member, which, under the law, may be a spouse, parent, parent-in-law, child, same-sex domestic partner, grandparent or grandchild. Nonserious health conditions of biological, adopted or foster children that require home care are also eligible for parental FMLA, or sick child, leave.

An employee is also eligible to take leave when they have a newborn or a newly adopted or newly placed foster child. In addition, leave may be taken when a family member is injured while on active military duty or when a qualifying exigency, as determined by the Department of Labor, arises related to a family member’s active duty military call-up.

Understanding FMLA Violations And Employer Retaliation

Although the Family and Medical Leave Act is a federal statute with clear requirements, violations remain common. Many employees do not realize that interference with protected leave rights can trigger liability under employment law, even when an employer claims compliance on paper. Understanding how violations occur is a critical first step toward protecting your job and your income.

One frequent violation involves denying leave to an eligible employee. This may happen when an employer misrepresents coverage requirements, improperly counts prior leave or refuses to recognize a qualifying medical condition. Other times, employers attempt to discourage leave by pressuring employees to delay time off, suggesting that leave will harm their career or require unnecessary documentation beyond what the law permits. Interfering with approved leave, such as demanding work while an employee is out or shortening the leave period, may also violate the FMLA.

Retaliation is another serious issue. FMLA retaliation occurs when an employer takes adverse action because an employee requested or used protected leave. Retaliatory conduct may include:

• Demotion or reduction in pay after returning from leave
• Increased scrutiny, discipline or harassment tied to the absence
• Changes to job duties that diminish status or opportunity
• Wrongful discharge shortly after FMLA leave concludes

These actions are unlawful when they are connected to the exercise of FMLA rights. Retaliation claims often overlap with employment discrimination concerns, particularly when medical conditions are involved. In some cases, retaliation related to medical leave may also constitute disability discrimination or fall within broader patterns of discrimination and harassment prohibited by state and federal law.

FMLA violations can also intersect with other worker protection statutes. For example, employers that misclassify employees or manipulate hours to avoid eligibility may implicate issues under the Fair Labor Standards Act. When leave denial or retaliation is tied to protected characteristics, these matters may raise civil rights concerns that require careful legal analysis.

Because FMLA cases often involve multiple overlapping laws, working with skilled employment attorneys is critical. These matters are rarely limited to a single violation and frequently require investigation of employer records, internal communications and patterns of conduct. We evaluate FMLA violations within the larger context of workplace protections to determine all available legal avenues.

If you believe your employer interfered with your FMLA rights or retaliated against you for taking leave, these actions may be unlawful.

Essential Evidence For An FMLA Lawsuit

Many businesses do not comply with obligations to provide employees with unpaid leave under the FMLA. These companies may intentionally violate the FMLA rules against retaliation as well. They may go so far as to delete or “lose” electronic records that could help support your claim.

You need FMLA retaliation evidence if you want to hold your employer accountable for terminating you in response to FMLA leave. Your employer may have made attempts to obfuscate the true nature of the company’s retaliatory actions. This makes documentation critical to countering the company’s claims.

Requesting copies of your medical certifications and securing a copy of the formal FMLA designation notice you received after requesting leave is an important step to proving pretext in a termination. You also need to prove temporal proximity in your FMLA case. Essentially, you must show that the adverse action was the result of your leave request.

Your employer may have engaged in Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) fraud by manufacturing an inaccurate paper trail to justify what was a retaliatory firing. If your prior reviews were all overwhelmingly positive but the company suddenly took issue with your work performance shortly after your leave request or your return to work, that is strong circumstantial evidence that can raise questions about the company’s true intentions.

You may also need to retain all workplace communication logs, including emails, text messages or voicemails. Communications denying you leave, expressing frustration with your absence or pressuring you to come in while on leave could help support your claim. Prior performance reviews and communications acknowledging your strong job performance before the leave request can also be helpful.

In scenarios where your employer claimed that they eliminated your position due to restructuring or downsizing but then hired someone else, evidence of that new hire could assist with proving pretext in your termination lawsuit.

Bringing documentation for your employment lawyers to review during your initial meeting can help them act promptly to preserve additional evidence. Your attorney can initiate the employment law discovery process and request documentation from your employer. Prompt action prevents the company from destroying digital evidence before the case goes to trial.

Were You Denied Family Leave? Contact Our Firm Today.

Denial of FMLA leave benefits is against the law. If an employer has refused to provide you with the leave to which you are entitled, we may be able to help. Contact us online or call 248-633-8916 to schedule an initial consultation to discuss your situation.