Video Description
Hi, my name's Alex Hartzband and I'm an employment attorney at Faruqi & Faruqi.
Under the Family and Medical Leave Act, or FMLA, employees who work at a large employer continuously for at least one year are entitled to up to 12 weeks of unpaid family and medical leave per year. Under the FMLA, your employer is prohibited from interfering with your right to these benefits.
For example, if after the birth of your child or major surgery, you elect to take the full 12 weeks of unpaid leave, your employer cannot force you to return to work early. Your employer is also prohibited from retaliating against you for exercising your rights under the FMLA. So that means that if you put in a request for FMLA leave, your employer cannot fire you, demote you, reduce your pay, or otherwise subject you to an adverse action for doing so.
Now the FMLA is complicated and as a result, determining your rights can be difficult. Accordingly, if you believe that your employer has interfered with your FMLA rights or retaliated against you for exercising them, we encourage you to reach out to an attorney experienced in employment litigation as soon as possible.