You request time away from work for surgery, a serious health condition, or to care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition. Your employer delays your request, pressures you to keep working, or suggests your absence could jeopardize your job. These behaviors may signal unlawful interference with your rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
At Employment Rights Lawyers, our team of attorneys led by Amir Seyedfarshi, Esq. represents employees facing serious workplace violations in Los Angeles and beyond. Here are signs that your employer may be interfering with protected FMLA leave.
Your employer ignores or discourages your request for leave
You do not have to say “FMLA” when requesting leave. If you provide enough information to indicate that your absence may qualify for FMLA protection, your employer generally has responsibilities to provide appropriate notices and determine whether the leave qualifies.
Interference may occur when an employer ignores a potentially qualifying request, discourages you from taking leave, or deliberately makes the process unnecessarily difficult.
Your employer imposes unreasonable notice requirements
When you know that you will need FMLA leave at least 30 days in advance, you generally must provide your employer with at least 30 days’ notice. If you learn of the need for leave fewer than 30 days in advance, or 30 days’ notice is otherwise not practicable, you generally must provide notice as soon as practicable.
An employer may interfere with your rights by demanding notice beyond what the law requires or refusing to account for circumstances in which advance notice was not practicable.
Your employer improperly delays or denies your leave
Eligible employees of covered employers may generally take up to 12 workweeks of protected leave during a 12-month period for qualifying reasons. Under the federal FMLA, eligibility generally requires at least 12 months of employment, at least 1,250 hours of service during the preceding 12 months, and employment at a location with at least 50 employees within 75 miles. California’s CFRA generally applies to employers with five or more employees and also requires eligible employees to meet certain service requirements.
Although employers can require you to follow lawful procedures and provide appropriate medical certification, they cannot improperly prevent you from using protected leave to which you are entitled. Repeated unexplained delays, unreasonable barriers, or an outright denial despite meeting applicable requirements may warrant closer examination.
Your employer pressures you to work during FMLA leave
FMLA leave is intended to give you protected time away from your job. Occasional, limited communications about matters such as locating information may not necessarily constitute interference. However, requiring you to continue performing substantive work can be different.
If your supervisor expects you to answer routine emails, attend meetings, complete assignments, or remain regularly available during protected leave, those demands could interfere with your ability to exercise your FMLA rights. For nonexempt employees, performing this work without compensation may also raise separate wage-and-hour concerns, including potential claims for off-the-clock work.
Your employer obstructs your intermittent FMLA leave
FMLA leave does not always have to be taken in one continuous block. When medically necessary, qualifying employees may be entitled to intermittent leave or a reduced schedule.
Your employer should not undermine protected intermittent leave by deliberately assigning impossible workloads, discouraging necessary absences, or otherwise preventing you from using approved leave. Whether particular conduct violates the FMLA depends on the specific circumstances.
Your employer punishes you for using protected leave
Your employer cannot lawfully use protected FMLA leave against you. Warning signs may include counting protected absences under an attendance policy, disciplining you because of those absences, or treating your leave as a negative factor in employment decisions.
Termination, demotion, reduced opportunities, or other adverse treatment connected to FMLA leave may potentially support an interference or retaliation claim.
Your employer refuses to properly reinstate you
After FMLA leave, you generally have the right to return to the same position or an equivalent position with equivalent pay, benefits, and other employment terms. Not every change following leave is unlawful, and FMLA protection does not give you greater employment rights than you otherwise would have had. However, an unexplained demotion, pay reduction, or materially inferior position following protected leave can be a warning sign.
What should you do if you notice these signs?
Workplace conduct can feel deeply unfair without necessarily violating employment law. Whether your employer’s actions constitute illegal FMLA interference depends on your eligibility, your employer’s coverage, the reason for your leave, and the specific facts involved.
If you are concerned about what is happening:
- Save emails, texts, leave requests, and HR communications
- Document relevant conversations, dates, and employment actions
- Keep copies of FMLA notices and medical certifications
- Review your employer’s leave policies and correspondence
- Avoid deleting or altering potentially relevant records
- Speak with an employment attorney about your legal options
If you believe your employer interfered with your FMLA leave or punished you for exercising your rights, contact our team of attorneys at Employment Rights Lawyers, APC. We can evaluate what happened, explain whether the conduct may rise to the level of a legal claim, and discuss the options available under California and federal employment law.
