Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Employee's rights after being off work for disability

My husband took FMLA leave from work, due to surgery he was off for approx. 6 1/2 months. He has now returned to work. From our understanding they did not have to guarantee him his old position back. They put him in a new position with a large cut in pay. My question would be if they never filled his old position and now are currently trying to hire someone for it, shouldn't he have been given his old job back. Human resource manager and vice president has told him that he has no rights and to be thankful that they didn't demote him even more.


Asked on 2/03/06, 7:18 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Patrick Turner Patrick E. Turner Inc. APLC

Re: Employee's rights after being off work for disability

FMLA, and the state counterpart, CFRA, guarantee that eligible employees can return to their former positions after leave. This job protection only lasts for 12 weeks, however. Since your husband's leave was longer than the 12 weeks of protection, it is true that the employer was probably not required to put him back in his former job. However, by not putting him in his former job (which remains open) the employer may be discriminating against your husband based upon his usage of FMLA rights or because of the disability. However, there are a number of factors should be considered in order to answer your question definitively. Accordingly, it would be advisable for you to meet with an employee rights attorney seems possible and have an in-depth consultation on your various rights and options.

Read more
Answered on 2/13/06, 6:18 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Labor and Employment Law questions and answers in California