In a majority of situations, Tennessee workers who have used all of the leave allowed under FMLA and are incapable of returning to work could be fired. 

In Tennessee, and in other states, job protection is not extended beyond the twelve weeks that the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows.  This usually applies even if the employee is a member of a union.

An exception to this general guideline might be if the employee is under a union contract that extends a further job protection benefit.  In the event that a union contract, or another collective bargain agreement exists, the employers needs to follow those guidelines. The employer might have to wait longer, or continue the employment of the individual, depending on the details of the contract.

Individuals with a serious medical condition, health problems or pregnancy disability are entitled to up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave in which their employment is continued.  This is according to the FMLA of 1993.  This leave can also be used for bonding with a newborn, newly adopted child or new foster child. If a spouse, child or parent have a serious medical condition, FMLA time may be used to care for them.

Most employers reserve the right to terminate after the 12 weeks under FMLA have been used and the employee does not return to work or takes off more time within the same year.  There is no other federal law that provides job protection beyond FMLA. Certain states, very few of them, do have laws that extend further benefits.

Illness doesn’t seem like a fair reason to lose a job. That is why FMLA exists. After a while, someone has to cover the work load, and employers can’t always wait month after month for sick employees to return.  Once productivity begins to suffer, employers might have no choice to replace individuals who have taken off time beyond 12 weeks.

Last 10 posts by Tamara

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This entry was posted on Thursday, February 7th, 2008 at 12:46 pm and is filed under Labor & Employment Laws, Pregnancy Laws. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.