Recently in Family Medical Leave Category

A Collin County man, Edwin Lee Elmore Jr., has filed a lawsuit over denial of medical leave in Texas, reports the Southeast Texas Record.

The suit, filed in the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, alleges that Elmore was fired from his position when he had to take time off for back surgery.

The case of Edwin Lee Elmore Jr., with all due respect, while not a high-impact, high-profile one, is instructive to those workers who are confronted with denial of medical leave in Texas, because it allows them and the rest of us an opportunity to learn about the subject.

A woman has filed a lawsuit alleging that she was fired for being pregnant, reports the Southeast Texas Record.

The suit was brought by Ashley Shelton against Synergy Care Inc. in Titus County District Court, from where it was removed to the Eastern District of Texas, Texarkarna Division.

Shelton used to work at Synergy's Mt. Pleasant customer facility when she learned she was pregnant. She was placed on medical leave when she was told by the doctors that she had to observe bed rest due to premature contractions. A few weeks later she was filed by email, alleges the complaint.

The Family and Medical Leave Act is a federal law that is of great benefit to Texas workers, allowing them to take time off under a number of circumstances. However, like many useful federal laws, it is also quite complicated and requires some navigation. This blog will try and provide you some clarity about the FMLA.

Here are some common questions about the Family and Medical Leave Act:

A Hispanic woman in Sherman, Texas, is alleging that she was fired by Guardian Healthcare Holdings in favor of a non-pregnant, non-Hispanic, and less qualified employee, reports the Southeast Texas Record.

The woman filed the suit against Guardian Healthcare Holdings in the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division, alleging that she was terminated late in her pregnancy based on a pretext. She is asking for an assortment of damages.

While the woman’s allegations are based on violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Texas Labor Code, they are also based in violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

An employee of Nestle Waters in Tyler, Texas claims that he was terminated from his position as a forklift driver in June 2009 after he had too many absences from work. Now through a lawsuit, the ex-employee is claiming that he was denied medical leave and is alleging violations of the Texas Labor Code and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in the complaint.

According to The Southeast Texas Record, the employee Ruben Correa suffered from an on-the-job injury when he stepped off the forklift and twisted his right leg in March, 2008. He underwent surgery after the accident and returned to work two months after the surgery, but said that he was still in pain from the injury. The employee claims that he was denied requests to be placed in another position and was also denied additional requests for medical leave.

Only 10 to 20 percent of new mothers who give birth remain at home with their babies until they reach the age of one year, reports HealthNews.com. In fact, most mothers will return to work at their job within just one to twelve weeks after giving birth.

Perhaps this is because the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) only protects covered employees with job security for up to 12 weeks. FindLaw states that this federal law will let employees take time away from work to handle family or medical needs, but that this leave doesn’t have to necessarily be paid leave.

Under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), employers with more than 50 employees are required to provide up to 12 weeks of leave for workers who must take care of certain medical needs. However, the law doesn't require this time off to be paid time off.

Yet certain cities across the country are trying to create their own laws that would require employers to provide paid sick leave. The Milwaukee Business Journal reports that voters in Milwaukee approved a law in 2008 that would require employers with at least 10 employees to let workers in the city of Milwaukee have up to nine days of paid sick leave. Companies with fewer than 10 workers must provide up to five paid sick days. This law, however, has not yet gone into effect.

The United States is one of just three out of 181 nations worldwide that does not have any law requiring paid maternity leave. Not even federal employees in this country are entitled to pay while taking time off to care for a newborn. And who are the other two nations? Papua New Guinea and Swaziland.

Africana Online reports that while the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 allows employees to take up to 12 unpaid weeks off from work and not lose their job, many families cannot afford to be without the 12 weeks of income. Studies from the New York-based Families and Work Institute have concluded that 27 percent of private corporations offered paid maternity leave in 1998, but that this number declined to just 16 percent in 2008. There's been a trend of eliminating paid paternity leave among private companies.

A store manager at Dollar General alleges that she was terminated after taking time off to care for her sick husband, who was receiving cancer treatment. According to the Southeast Texas Record, she said that her husband needed chemotherapy treatments every 14 days, so she requested leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

Under the Family Medical Leave Act, FindLaw states that covered employees can take as much as 12 weeks off in a 12-month period in order to handle personal or family medical problems. FMLA applies to employers with 50 or more workers, who have employed 50 or more workers for at least the past 20 weeks. In the case with the Dollar General store manager, the plaintiff Susan Sizemore claims that she was approved for FMLA but that the company's regional manager refused to give her assistance to cover the store.

The Family Medical Leave Act entitles many employees to as much as 12 weeks of leave in a 12-month period so that personal or family medical problems can be taken care of. FindLaw states that employers must provide this leave if 50 or more workers have been employed with the company or agency for at least the past 20 weeks. Any covered employee who has their rights violated under FMLA or is retaliated against for taking family medical leave can contact a Houston employment lawyer to file a claim.