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Hayber, McKenna & Dinsmore

Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act Attorneys

Home Employee Rights Family and Medical Leave Act

KEY ISSUES IN FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT

If you believe FMLA is applicable to your Connecticut job, there are a few minimum requirements that must be met for your to take FMLA leave. Under the federal law:

DID YOU (ANY ONE OF THE BELOW):

  • Your employer must have 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius;
  • You must have been an employee of the company for at least a year; and
  • You must have worked at least 1,250 hours for the company (31.25 40-hour work weeks).

IF THESE CONDITIONS ARE MET, YOU MAY SEEK FMLA LEAVE IF YOU:

  • Are having a child, whether you are the mother or the father, and whether you are giving birth, adopting a child or taking one in under foster care;
  • Have been in a serious accident and temporarily cannot work;
  • Need surgery or a procedure for which you will be hospitalized;
  • Have a parent, spouse or child undergoing medical care for a serious health condition; or
  • Are undergoing chemotherapy or other serious treatment that will render you temporarily unable to work.

There is also a Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act that applies if the employer has at least 75 employees.

If you are denied leave, fired because you took leave or returned from leave to find your job had been taken and there was not an equivalent job for you, you may have a claim against your employer.

The Family and Medical Leave Act gives employees the right to take necessary leave when they are ill or injured when certain family members are ill or injured, or when they are about to have a child. As long as certain criteria are met, any employer must grant the leave and must have the employee’s job or an equivalent job waiting when the employee comes back.

Connecticut FMLA Attorneys

If your employer unfairly denied you family leave or medical leave, fired for requesting or taking leave, or you returned from leave to find your job gone, the Hartford and New Haven Connecticut FMLA lawyers at Hayber, McKenna & Dinsmore can help you exercise your rights and recover your losses. We have experienced Connecticut FMLA lawyers with a history of fighting for our clients’ rights to family and medical leave. Fill out our online contact form for FMLA, and we will review your case.

We represent clients in Hartford, Milford, New Haven, Bridgeport, Stamford and throughout Connecticut.

Connecticut FMLA Information Center

  • Provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act for Hartford Workers

  • Notice for FMLA Leave

  • FMLA Protections in Connecticut

  • Learn more about result

Provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act for Connecticut Workers

The Family and Medical Leave Act gives qualified employees of qualified employers the right to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in order for:

  • The birth of a son or daughter, or to adopt or take into foster care a son or daughter;

  • Care of a spouse, son, daughter or parent with a serious health condition;

  • A serious health condition that renders the employee unable to perform essential job functions; or

  • For any matter that arises out of the fact that a spouse, son, daughter or parents is a member of the military on covered active duty or call to covered active duty status.

The serious health condition can be an injury or an illness that leaves the employee temporarily unable to work.  It may be due to an operation for which the employee will require an extended hospital stay. It could be a sudden injury.

The condition can be physical or psychological. If you suffer from depression or any other mental condition that renders you unable to work, you may qualify for FMLA leave.

You must be unable to perform the functions of your job to qualify for FMLA leave. If you work in construction and break your leg, you may be unable to work and may take FMLA leave until you recover completely. But if you work at a desk in an office, then you may need to a take a few days off, but you may not qualify for anything further.

If your qualifying family member faces a serious health condition, you may take FMLA to help that family member recover. Your family member could be incapacitated, or could simply need emotional and psychological support.

The Connecticut law has the same conditions with a higher threshold for how many employees the employer must have. However, the state law offers 16 weeks per year of leave, and 24 weeks over a two-year period. National employers might be unaware of the state law and fail to appropriately give leave.

Notice for FMLA Leave

Sometimes, notice is not possible when medical leave is required. If for instance, you were involved in a car accident and are rushed to the hospital, where your care will take several days and you will be out of work for weeks, the protections of FMLA are still applicable. If notice is not available, the employee must give let the employer know as soon as possible and practical.

However, when the need to take FMLA is foreseeable, the employee must request it in advance, according to the procedures of their employer. The customary notice is at least 30 days. If for instance, you are due to give birth in five months, you are required to officially give notice at least 30 days in advance to be protected under the law — even if you are aware you will be showing by then.

FMLA Protections in Connecticut

Qualifying employers are required to give qualified employees leave if all procedures are followed and requirements met. The employer is not allowed to retaliate in any way. Retaliation could mean a demotion, an undesirable transfer, losing benefits or reducing the employee’s pay.

The employer is not necessarily required to keep the employee’s exact job open. But, the employer must have a similar job available for you to return.

For example, you are an assistant director of human resources, in charge of new hires, and you take nine weeks of leave. If you return and your employer has moved someone into your position but has an assistant director of human resources position in charge of benefits open to you for the same pay, then your company may have fulfilled its legal obligations under the FMLA. If they try to place you as an administrative assistant, however, you should seek the services of a Hartford employment lawyer.

Representative Results:

  • Obtained settlement for hospital laboratory worker who was terminated after returning from FMLA leave of absence.

  • Obtained six-figure settlement for executive who was terminated after indicating she would need FMLA leave and had recently asked for forms.

  • Obtained settlement for hospital worker after taking leave for asthma under intermittent leave policy.

Meet with Our Connecticut Medical Leave Attorneys

Family and medical leave is a right for qualified employees of qualified employers. If you’ve been denied this right, the Hartford and New Haven FMLA lawyers at Hayber, McKenna & Dinsmore can help you. We represent workers who have wrongly been denied FMLA leave, or retaliated against for taking leave. We serve clients in Hartford, New Haven, Stamford, Fairfield County and throughout Connecticut. Call (860) 522-8888.