The US Department of Labor (DOL) has recovered $47,728 in back wages and liquidated damages for two former employees of two separate Tennessee-based healthcare providers that violated their rights to protected leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The announcement was made on January 18, 2024.
Investigators with the Department’s Wage and Hour Division found that a Nashville healthcare provider illegally fired a medical office assistant after the employee requested and used FMLA-protected leave for a qualifying health condition.
In a separate investigation, the DOL found a Tennessee nursing home illegally fired a housekeeper after the employee requested and used FMLA-protected leave for a qualifying health condition.
DOL investigators determined the employers failed to:
- Inform the workers that they may have been eligible for leave within five business days of learning that their leave may be FMLA-qualifying.
- Provide a rights and responsibilities notice in writing to an employee at the time it was required to provide the eligibility notice, or within five business days of learning of their leave.
- Inform employees if their leave would be designated as FMLA-qualifying within five business days of knowledge of their leave.
- Correctly classify an employee’s absences from work as FMLA-qualifying.
- Include all of the required information about the FMLA in their company handbook.
“The Family and Medical Leave Act makes clear that employers cannot deprive an eligible employee of leave, forcing them to make the hard choice between keeping their jobs and caring for themselves or their families,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Lisa Kelly in Nashville, Tennessee. “The US Department of Labor is committed to ensuring that employees’ rights under the FMLA are protected. We encourage employers to review the numerous tools and resources we provide to help them understand their rights and obligations under this law.”
In fiscal year 2023, the Wage and Hour Division concluded 334 FMLA compliance actions with violations and recovered more than $987,000 in back wages.
An FMLA compliance assistance toolkit is available here.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
The FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave. FMLA leave may be unpaid or used at the same time as employer-provided paid leave. Employees must be restored to the same or a virtually identical position when they return to work after FMLA leave. An employer cannot threaten, discriminate against, punish, suspend, or fire an employee because they requested or used FMLA leave. Violations of an employee’s FMLA rights may include changing the number of shifts assigned to the employee, moving the employee to a location outside of their normal commuting area, denying the employee a bonus for which they qualified before their FMLA leave, writing up the employee for missing work when using FMLA leave, denying a promotion because the employee has used FMLA leave, or assessing negative attendance points for FMLA leave use.
Discussion Points
- Review your policies and procedures on the FMLA and update as needed.
- Train human resources staff and facility leadership on FMLA requirements. Document that the training occurred and file each signed document in the employee’s individual education file.
- Audit to ensure that FMLA posting requirements are met and that employee handbooks include the required FMLA information. Also periodically audit to ensure employees who requested FMLA were not discriminated against and that policies and procedures were followed.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, LLC for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*
