Legal Question in Medical Leave in Ohio

Re: eligibility for leave

The short answer is: no. The following assumes that your employer is otherwise subject to the FMLA and that you otherwise are a qualified employee under the FMLA.

While the FMLA contemplates the employee providing 30 days advance notice and requires such notice when leave is foreseeable 30 days in advance, when the need for leave is not foreseeable, it requires only that notice which is possible and practicable to provide. In your case, you should schedule your prenatal appointments as far in advance as possible and give your employer as much notice as possible (preferably 30 days notice if possible). This will preclude your employer from claiming that you provided insufficient notice. When such notice is not possible, you should provide your employer with as much notice of the need for leave as is possible.

If you should need leave that is not foreseeable, put in a written FMLA request for each occasion that you need leave as soon as it is possible for you to do so and provide medical certification within 15 days if your employer requires it. Since your employer will not now recognize your future leaves, treat each one as a separate FMLA request based on your pregnancy as they become necessary. If you provide as much notice as is possible and you otherwise qualify under the FMLA, your employer will be in violation of the FMLA if it denies your leave as FMLA leave, particularly since it is already on your notice of your need for future intermittent leave. It sounds like your employer is already in violation of the FMLA by denying your leave, but you should make it as difficult for your employer as possible to later claim that you failed to follow FMLA procedures.

Additionally, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (�PDA�) prohibits your employer from treating your intermittent leave differently than it treats other types of FMLA-qualifying intermittent leaves. Therefore, if your employer, for example, does not require medical certification identifying the amount of future leave for non-pregnancy-related conditions, it is in violation of the PDA as well since it does require such certification for pregnancy-related leaves.

If you fear that your benefits or job will be terminated or modified if you take leave, you should advise your employer in writing of your opposition to its violation of your FMLA rights in the hopes that it will reconsider so that you can take the necessary leave with some peace of mind. Your opposition should be directed to the person(s) who made the FMLA decision and any other persons who may be designated by your employer (e.g., in an employee handbook) to receive such complaints. If you do not wish to retain an attorney, you also have the option of filing a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.