• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

FMLA Guidelines

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

G

grobinson

Guest
What is the name of your state? ny

i'm not too familiar with the fmla laws so i'm seeking advice.
my father took a leave of absence three months ago to take care of my grandmother who is very sick with cancer. human resources told him that three months would be considered personal leave and the othe rthree months that he needed would be considered family leave. they told him once his first three months were over, he would have to write to his boss again stating the reasons for his leave of absence. now that he wrote and spoke to his boss, his is boss told him that his leave of absence was denied and that he would have to return to work asap. how exactly does fmla work, i thought that no one could be denied fmla especially under these circumstances.

thanks,
 


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
FMLA lasts for 12 weeks. After that time, an employer is legally permitted to terminate an employee.

Some employers permit additional time automatically; some employers do not permit additional time at all unless required by some other law; and some employers permit it on a case by case basis. It sounds as if your father's employer is of the third variety. At the end of the FMLA time (the first three months) he was required to request additional time. He did so; the leave was denied.

Unless the company policy REQUIRES that they permit additional leave after FMLA is exhausted, nothing illegal happened. It's a shame they didn't explain more clearly that any subsequent leave after the FMLA was not guaranteed, but they didn't break any laws that I can see.
 

Beth3

Senior Member
Yes, your father qualfies for up to 12 weeks of leave under the federal Family & Medical Leave Act to take care of his mother, provided he has worked for the employer for at least a year and has worked more than 1,250 hours during the 12 month period preceeding the leave (and the comany has at least 50 employees.)

It's hard to know what exactly is going on with your father's situation since there appears to be some cross over with company policy, which is the only explanation why 3 months of "personal leave" would be extended prior to the employer granting 12 weeks of FMLA. Either the employer is considering the personal leave time AS his 12 week FMLA entitlement (which would be legal), or leave is being denied because your father didn't work more than 1,250 hours in the last 12 months, or the boss doesn't know what he's talking about. I'm going to go with the latter absent further information at this point. Your "average boss" knows just enough about employment law to be dangerous and barely has a clue about the particulars of the FMLA.

The very best thing your father could do at the moment would be to contact his human resources director or representive and clarify the situation. He should do this right away.

If that results in further questions after he calls, please post back.
 
G

grobinson

Guest
thanks so much for the info. my dad has worked for the company for 7 years full-time so that wasn't the issue. my dad called human resources and now they told him that his first twelve weeks were ok's without a problem, but the second 3 months were not guaranteed and were left to the sole discretion of his boss. i wish they would have told him all this before his leave. that is why it's always important to get things in writing so that there are no misunderstandings, which unfortunately did not happen in this case.

thanks again.
 

Beth3

Senior Member
It sounds like the confusion is over what period of time was FMLA and what period was personal leave. Perhaps your dad was misinformed; perhaps due to the stress over his mother he misunderstood. If he's had his 12 weeks of leave time, that is all the time the company is obligated to extend.
 
G

grobinson

Guest
just to make sure I understood, employers are only required to give you either fmla, for 12 weeks. is there such a thing as personal leave in addition to familiy leave, or that's it?
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Employers who qualify are required to give employees who qualify, up to 12 weeks of FMLA leave for conditions which qualify. ANY additional leave after that is up to company policy.
 
G

grobinson

Guest
thanks to all. not only have you helped me with my father's situation but you have given me insight as to fmla leave in general

thanks!!:D
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top