The Family Medical Leave Act, or FMLA, grants eligible employees a maximum of 12 weeks of unpaid leave with guaranteed job protection. Under current federal law, employers must legally respect their employees’ rights in the State of Florida.
FMLA Eligibility
To take job-protected leave under FMLA, you must first prove a legitimate family or medical reason. The qualifying reasons for 12 weeks of leave within a 12-month period under FMLA include:
- The birth and care of a newborn child
- The placement of an employee’s child in adoption or foster care
- The caring for a parent, spouse, or child with a serious medical condition
- The suffering of a serious medical condition that inhibits the employee’s ability to perform the necessary functions of his or her job
- Any qualifying exigency arising from an employee’s spouse, child, or parent, being a covered military member on covered active duty
Under the FMLA, employees may take up to 26 weeks of leave within one 12-month period to care for a covered service member with a serious injury or medical condition when that individual is the employee’s spouse, child, parent, or next of kin.
Additionally, to qualify for FMLA, an employee must fulfill the following requirements:
- Employed with the company for a minimum of 12 months
- Worked a minimum of 1,250 hours over the course of the year
- Employed at a location with a minimum of 50 employees within a 75-mile radius
FMLA Violations
FMLA is a federal law. Therefore, all employers across the United States, including Florida, must strictly adhere to it. More specifically, in the State of Florida, if an employer has more than 50 employees, the employer must allow a minimum of 20 weeks of leave.
It’s against the law for any employer to obstruct your rights under FMLA or punish you for taking advantage of your rights. If you believe that your employer has violated your FMLA rights, contact the experienced attorneys at Weldon & Rothman, PL, for a free case evaluation today!