Nebraska FMLA
Posted by Tamara
Many employees in Nebraska have questions about job protection under FMLA.
An employer in Nebraska, and other states in the nation, is not allowed to change an employee’s working conditions based solely on FMLA leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act permits an employee to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid job protected leave in a 12 month period. FMLA leave can be used to take care of a newborn infant or to take care of family member with a serious health condition. However, the employer is not allowed to penalize an employee because they were on FMLA leave.
For instance, Marie works for a large payroll processing firm. She needs to take 8 hours FMLA leave per week to take care of her son, who has a serious illness. Because the appointments and treatments vary, Marie must take leaves at different times and sometimes on short notice. Joe, her supervisor has become frustrated with the unscheduled absences. He decides to transfer Marie to a lower-paid position in the department where her intermittent absences would not be as disruptive.
Even though Marie would be receiving the same benefits, her employer cannot legally take a negative employment action against her because she has used FMLA leave. Marie would be entitled to her old job, at the old rate of pay. The FMLA prohibits any negative employment action including job transfers, promotions, hiring or termination due to the employee being on FMLA. If Joe needed to make reductions in his staffing and the decision to transfer Marie and others in the department was based on seniority, and not FMLA was not an issue, then the transfer would be legal.
In another example, the son’s condition worsens and Marie needs to take 6 weeks of FMLA leave from her job. When she returns, Joe tells her that while she was away he reviewed her job performance and because of her lengthy absences, she no longer had a job. This would also not be permitted under FMLA, provided Marie had not used more than a total of 12 weeks of leave.
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