Magnifying Glass

Could Worker Glued to Cell Phone during FMLA Leave Sue for Retaliation?
Could Worker Glued to Cell Phone during FMLA Leave Sue for Retaliation?

What Do You Think? A recent Illinois case involving a city worker who was seen socializing and making cell phone calls when she was supposed to be caring for her ailing father highlights the importance […]
Did Media Company Cancel Saleswoman’s Job because she Used FMLA Leave?
Did Media Company Cancel Saleswoman’s Job because she Used FMLA Leave?

What Do You Think? Employers can get into trouble for retaliation if they fire an employee because the employee is using or has used FMLA leave. But what if that employee genuinely cannot return to […]
Did Hospital’s Discouragement of FMLA use Amount to Interference?
Did Hospital’s Discouragement of FMLA use Amount to Interference?

What Do You Think? Employers can engage in FMLA interference by taking adverse action, or threatening to do so, in response to an employee’s use of FMLA leave.  That was a laboratory technician’s claim in […]
Was Worker Hospitalized for Depression Entitled to Notice of FMLA Rights?
Was Worker Hospitalized for Depression Entitled to Notice of FMLA Rights?

What Do You Think? When an employee takes leave that may be for an FMLA-qualifying serious health condition, the employer must notify the employee of her eligibility to take FMLA leave. A case involving an […]
Did Recruiter’s Request for Time Off to Care for Ailing Spouse Keep FMLA Case Alive?
Did Recruiter’s Request for Time Off to Care for Ailing Spouse Keep FMLA Case Alive?

What Do You Think? The FMLA is not like a Harry Potter movie: it doesn’t take magic words to open the door to medical leave or to trigger an employer’s obligations under the statute. But […]
Was University Diversity Investigator ‘Operating on Fumes’ FMLA-Eligible?
Was University Diversity Investigator ‘Operating on Fumes’ FMLA-Eligible?

What Do You Think? It’s probably not much fun investigating sexual harassment at a university, or anywhere else, for that matter. The stress might even trigger mental health challenges -- as it apparently did in […]
Was Firing Employee whose Husband was Terminal FMLA Retaliation?
Was Firing Employee whose Husband was Terminal FMLA Retaliation?

What Do You Think? The FMLA allows an eligible employee to take leave to care for a spouse or other family member. Employees that interfere with that right risk retaliation lawsuits. A case involving a […]
Court Declines to Put Brakes on FMLA Interference Claim Against Car Dealership 
Court Declines to Put Brakes on FMLA Interference Claim Against Car Dealership 

HR Homeroom Employers can face FMLA interference claims when they flatly refuse to grant leave or outright terminate an employee after he returns from medical leave.  A case involving an employee for a car dealership […]