Legal Question in Medical Leave in Pennsylvania

Re: Flma

Whether the employer was required to provide FMLA leave depends on whether it is a �covered� employer and whether your friend was eligible for FMLA leave. A covered employer is one that has at least 50 employees and an eligible employee is one who has been employed for at least 12 months and who has worked at least 1250 hours during the past 12 months for that employer (and who has taken less than 12 weeks of FMLA leave during the 12-month period).

If these conditions are met and the employer was aware of the reason for the absence then yes, it should have been designated as FMLA leave. For unforeseeable/unexpected leave, an employer may not require advance notice. Rather, the employee is required to provide notice to the employer of the need for leave �as soon as practicable�. As it was not practicable (and indeed, sounds like it was impossible) for the employee to provide notice any sooner than he/she did, then the employee cannot be held to the employer�s internal call-off policy that conflicts with the FMLA. Whenever there is a conflict like this between an internal policy and the FMLA, the FMLA controls.

The information contained herein is for informational purposes only; it is not to be construed as legal advice; and it is not intended to and does not create an attorney-client relationship.