Legal Question in Medical Leave in Massachusetts
Violation of the FMLA?
A pregnant woman with a due date of 4/07/03 submits her request for leave under the FMLA on 03/07/03. The woman's employer informs her that she will be laid-off on 03/10/03 and does not respond to her request for leave. The employer is required under the FMLA to grant such leave (minimum # of employees more than 50) and the woman is not in a ''key'' position. This appears to be an obvious violation of the FMLA. I would appreciate any guidance.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Violation of the FMLA?
In order to qualify for the FMLA, she also needs to have worked there for at least one year and have worked at least 1250 hours over the previous year (about 24 hrs/wk). What was the reason that was given by the employer for the layoff? Was it a reduction-in-force that she would have been included in regardless of her request for leave? Or was she the only employee laid off?