Jay Trucks and Associates Legal Blog

The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows employees to take unpaid leave from their job in order to handle family or medical emergencies.

In order to qualify for FMLA leave, you must have been a paid employee for the entire year prior to applying for leave, and you must have worked at least 1,250 hours during that time period.

Under the FMLA, you are entitled to receive up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during a one-year period. In order to qualify for leave, one of the following circumstances must exist:

• The birth of a new child
• The placement of a child for adoption or foster care
• To care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) who has a serious medical condition or disability
• You are unable to work due to a serious medical condition

You are required to give your employer 30 days notice of your need to take FMLA leave when your leave is foreseeable. If your FMLA leave is not foreseeable, you must notify your employer as soon as you are aware of the need to take leave. You must also supply your employer with information explaining why you need to take FMLA leave in order to prove that you meet FMLA qualifications.

Under the FMLA, employers are not allowed to prevent you from exercising the rights provided to you by this law or to discriminate against you in any way for filing for FMLA leave. If your employer does not abide by the terms of the FMLA, he may be held legally accountable for his actions.

If you are having problems with exercising your FMLA rights, please contact the attorneys at Jay Trucks & Associates, P.C. today to schedule an appointment with one of our employment law specialists. We serve clients in the Flint, Saginaw, and Lansing, Michigan area.