Legal Question in Employment Law in Ohio

Re: My right as an enployee

The short answer is: it depends. The Family and Medical Leave Act (�FMLA�) requires certain employers to provide up to 12 weeks of leave to employees to care for ill family members. However, the FMLA applies only to employers having 50 more employees in 20 or more workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year. Therefore, if your employer did not have at least 50 employees for at least 20 weeks during this calendar year or last year, then it was not required to provide FMLA leave. Additionally, even if the FMLA does apply to your employer, an employee is eligible for FMLA leave only if he/she has worked at least 1250 hours over the previous 12 months for that employer.

If you and your employer meet the above eligibility requirements, then you may have a claim under the FMLA.

If either you or your employer do not meet the requirements, then your only recourse, if any, is a contract-type claim based on your mutual agreement and representations made at the time of hiring. Whether such a claim would be worth pursuing will depend on the details as to what exactly was said and agreed to at the time you were hired.

Feel free to call me directly at 216.687.1244, ext. 701 if you have additional questions.