At Hayber, McKenna & Dinsmore our New Haven family and medical leave act attorneys are experienced, passionate advocates for employees. If you believe that you were improperly denied leave or if you lost your job because you took leave, we are here to help. To set up a completely confidential initial consultation with an experienced Connecticut FMLA lawyer, please call our New Haven law office at (203) 691-6491 or reach out to us directly online.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): Understanding the Basics

Employers and Employees Covered by the Law

The Family Leave and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that guarantees some workers unpaid, job-protected leave for qualified family and medical reasons. You are covered by the FMLA if:

Your employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles;
You have worked at the company for a minimum of 12 months;
You have at least 1,250 total hours worked.

Conditions that Allow for Job-Protected Leave

The FMLA allows employees to take time to deal with a wide range of different family & medical issues. Specifically, you may be eligible to take unpaid, job-protected leave if:

You or your spouse is giving birth;
You and your partner are adopting a child;
You were seriously injured in an accident;
You need a medical operation;
Your child, spouse, or parent has a serious medical issue—and you are helping to provide care.

Under the FMLA, you can take a maximum of 12 weeks of leave. Though, under Connecticut state law, some employees may be able to take up to 16 weeks of job-protected leave. If you or your loved one has a condition that qualifies under the FMLA and were improperly denied an opportunity to take leave, contact our New Haven employee rights attorneys for immediate assistance.

The Requirement to Give Reasonable Notice

Under the FMLA, employees have a basic obligation to give employers reasonable notice when they are taking leave. How much notice is considered to be “reasonable” notice depends entirely on the specific circumstances of the case. Of course, by definition, many family and medical emergencies cannot be anticipated. It may be literally impossible for an employee to give notice. On the other hand, certain cases—most notably child birth—are foreseeable. Whenever possible, employees should try to give at least 30 days of notice.

An Employee’s Right to Return to Work

The key protection in the FMLA is that eligible employees can take temporary leave without losing their job. In other words, when your leave ends, you are entitled to return to your position or to a fundamentally similar job that is available. Employers cannot take adverse action against an employee simply because they exercised their rights under the FMLA. If you were denied an opportunity to return to work or if you were punished for taking leave, our New Haven Family and Medical Leave Act attorneys can help.

Call Our New Haven, CT FMLA Attorneys for Immediate Assistance

At Hayber, McKenna & Dinsmore, our Connecticut employment attorneys have the skills, experience, and training to handle the full range of Family and Medical Leave Act cases. If you have questions about your rights, we can help. For a confidential consultation, please contact our New Haven office at (203) 691-6491. We represent employees throughout the region, including in Waterbury, Meriden, Derby, Milford, and West Haven.

New Haven, Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act Attorneys