Michigan Family Medical Leave Act Lawyers
The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires employers to provide eligible employees up to 12 weeks unpaid leave during any 12-month period for:
- the birth or adoption of a child
- providing care for a family member with a serious health condition
- medical leave when the employee has a serious health condition
Employers must also restore the employee to his or her same job with no change in pay or benefits at the conclusion of the leave.
You are covered by the FMLA if you work for a company with 50 or more employees. However, employers are not always enthusiastic about providing legally required leave. At the Royal Oak, Michigan, law firm of Pitt, McGehee, Palmer, Rivers & Golden, our attorneys help employees obtain the leave they need to care for themselves or their families and return to work at the expiration of that leave. If you believe your employer is restricting your use of FMLA leave, contact one of our employment lawyers. We can help.
Retaliation
While employers may not deny FMLA leave directly, they can and do make it difficult to take FMLA leave. In addition, employers frequently retaliate against an employee for exercising his or her FMLA rights. Retaliation can take the form of a poor performance review, the imposition of a new work schedule, denial of a raise, being passed over for promotion, or even termination.
How We Can Help
If your right to take FMLA leave or return to work has been restricted, we can help you recover compensation for the costs you incurred and other economic losses suffered. For example, if you were forced to pay someone else to care for your sick family member, you may be able to recover the amounts you paid out, in addition to any lost pay and benefits. In addition, if you were terminated because of FMLA use, we may be able to help you get you reinstated. Finally, you may be entitled to damages over and above the actual costs of caring for a new baby, a sick family member, or yourself, including all wage loss and benefits.
If your right to take family medical leave has been challenged by your employer or have been retaliated against for seeking or taking FMLA leave, contact a Michigan employment lawyer knowledgeable about FMLA claims.
