Legal Question in Medical Leave in Pennsylvania
Medical leave for non-US citizen
A friend of mine is a Canadian citizen who recently married a US citizen and moved to Pittsburgh. She has been working for a religious organization for 3 months where she is one of 3-7 employees. She is 7 months pregnant and is having complications of moderate severity and will need to be induced and will likely have a cesarean section. Meanwhile her father in Canada was diagnoses with lymphoma and has 4-12 weeks to live. Her employers have not been very understanding about her need to visit her father or her difficulties at work due to her pregnancy. As a Canadian physician I would recommend that she take a medical leave of absence until she delivers her child which would allow her to deal with the impending loss of her father and with her difficult pregnancy. She is worried that her employers will fire her which will lead to difficulties with her green card and visa status, not to mention financial problems.
- What are her legal rights as an non-citizen employee with respect to paid or unpaid medical leave in her situation?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Medical leave for non-US citizen
FMLA requires 1 year of employment to qualify for it. There may be other options such as disability discrimination that may be available. I offer free consultations.
Re: Medical leave for non-US citizen
I do not need to arrive at any issue of her citizenship (although I do not believe it is an issue because she is employed in the US) because she has only been with this employer for 3 months. Rights under the FMLA do not vest until the employee has worked at least 12 months, and the requisite number of hours. She may have rights under state law however, and for that, she should seek the opinion of local counsel.
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