At Greenberg Gross LLP, our Las Vegas FMLA lawyers represent employees whose protected family or medical leave has been denied, interfered with, or followed by retaliation. Our attorneys examine leave requests, communications with supervisors and Human Resources, attendance records, medical certifications, and employment decisions to determine whether an employer violated the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
Employees often need to take leave during difficult medical or family circumstances. If your employer refused qualifying leave, counted protected absences against you, failed to restore you to an appropriate position, or treated you differently after you exercised FMLA rights, our Las Vegas employment attorneys can evaluate what happened and explain your options.
Start your journey towards justice today by scheduling your free claim consultation
What Is the Family and Medical Leave Act?
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that provides eligible employees of covered employers with up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave during a 12-month period for qualifying family and medical reasons.
The FMLA also generally provides for continued coverage of qualifying group health benefits and the right to return to the same or an equivalent position after protected leave, subject to the law's requirements and exceptions.
Qualifying reasons to take leave can include an employee's own serious health condition, caring for certain family members, the birth or placement of a child for adoption or foster care, and qualifying circumstances related to military service. Eligible employees can also receive up to 26 workweeks of military caregiver leave under qualifying circumstances.
Who Qualifies for FMLA Leave in Las Vegas?
According to the U.S. Department of Labor FMLA eligibility guide, an employee generally must satisfy several requirements to qualify for FMLA leave. The employee must:
- Work for an employer covered by the FMLA;
- Have worked for that employer for at least 12 months;
- Have completed at least 1,250 hours of service during the preceding 12 months; and
- Work at a location where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles.
The 75-mile requirement can matter when employers operate multiple hotels, restaurants, healthcare facilities, entertainment venues, or other worksites throughout the Las Vegas area. Employees should not necessarily assume they are ineligible simply because fewer than 50 people work at their particular location.
Do You Have to Specifically Ask for "FMLA Leave"?
No. An employee requesting leave that may qualify under the FMLA does not have to specifically mention the FMLA. The employee must, however, provide enough information for the employer to reasonably understand that the absence may qualify for legal protection.
For example, simply saying that a relative is "sick" may provide insufficient information. Explaining that a spouse has been hospitalized and that time away is needed to provide care communicates considerably more about a potentially qualifying reason.
Once an employer learns that leave may qualify, it also has notice responsibilities under the FMLA. The Department of Labor generally requires employers to provide an eligibility notice within five business days of learning that an employee's leave may qualify, absent extenuating circumstances.
What Did Your Employer Know About Your Need for Leave?
When an employer argues that an employee never properly requested FMLA leave, our attorneys examine what information was actually communicated. We can investigate:
- What did the employee tell a supervisor?
- What did Human Resources know?
- Was management informed about a hospitalization, medical treatment, or need to care for a qualifying family member?
- Did anyone provide FMLA paperwork or ask for additional information?
- How was the absence ultimately classified?
Employees have their own notice obligations, particularly when leave is foreseeable. But they are not expected to know all FMLA requirements before requesting time off.
If your employer treated your absence as unexcused even though management knew about a potentially qualifying family or medical issue, call Greenberg Gross LLP at (702) 777-0888. Our Las Vegas FMLA lawyers can review the communications and determine whether the FMLA may have applied.
What Medical Conditions Qualify for FMLA Leave?
Not every illness or medical appointment qualifies. Medical leave generally must involve a serious health condition as defined by the FMLA and its regulations.
A serious health condition can involve inpatient care or circumstances that require ongoing treatment by a healthcare provider. Chronic and mental health conditions can also qualify when applicable requirements are satisfied.
The FMLA can protect leave when an employee's own qualifying condition prevents them from performing their job or when an eligible employee needs time to care for a qualifying family member.
Can You Take FMLA Leave to Care for Someone Else?
Eligible employees can generally take FMLA leave to care for a spouse, son or daughter, or parent with a serious health condition. Other relationships do not automatically qualify under ordinary FMLA family-care provisions. However, certain legal relationships can qualify when someone acted in the role of a parent even without a biological or legal relationship.
FMLA protections can also cover bonding with a child following birth, adoption, or foster placement, as well as certain military family needs.
What Is FMLA Interference?
FMLA interference occurs when an employer unlawfully interferes with, restrains, or denies an employee's exercise or attempted exercise of FMLA rights.
An outright denial of qualifying leave is one example. Interference can also involve discouraging an employee from using protected leave or improperly penalizing them for FMLA-protected absences.
The Department of Labor explains that employers cannot punish employees for exercising FMLA rights or count FMLA leave against employees under attendance policies.
What Happens When an Attendance Policy Collides With FMLA Leave?
Employers can enforce legitimate attendance and call-in policies, but qualifying FMLA leave generally cannot be treated as an ordinary unexcused absence. This becomes especially important under point-based attendance systems.
Our attorneys may compare the dates on which attendance points were assessed with the reason for each absence, the information provided to the employer, FMLA records, and any subsequent discipline related to the time off. For example, if protected absences contributed to the points used to justify termination, the employment decision may warrant closer scrutiny.
If medical or family-related absences contributed to attendance warnings, suspension, or termination, call our team at (702) 777-0888 and let our Las Vegas FMLA attorneys determine whether protected leave was improperly counted against you.
What Is FMLA Retaliation?
FMLA retaliation occurs when an employer takes prohibited adverse action because an employee exercised or attempted to exercise FMLA rights. Potential retaliation can include discipline, diminished opportunities, undesirable assignments, demotion, or termination.
However, an adverse employment action occurring after FMLA leave is not automatically retaliatory. Employers can make legitimate decisions for reasons unrelated to protected leave.
During our investigation, we can examine the chronology and the evidence supporting the employer's explanation to determine if any FMLA violations occurred.
Did the Employer's Explanation Exist Before You Requested Leave?
An employee's record before the leave request can become particularly important when an employer claims later discipline or termination had nothing to do with FMLA leave.
- If poor performance is the stated reason, where were those problems documented before FMLA leave was requested?
- If attendance supposedly justified termination, which absences contributed to that decision?
- If the employer cites company restructuring, when did discussions about the restructuring begin?
Our attorneys compare explanations offered after a dispute arises with contemporaneous performance evaluations, disciplinary records, attendance data, internal communications, and other evidence. We know that a termination shortly after FMLA leave is not automatically unlawful. But the employer's explanation should withstand scrutiny.
If your employment record or treatment changed abruptly after you requested or took family or medical leave, or if you want to learn more about broader employment law protections for Las Vegas employees, contact our Las Vegas employment lawyers for a confidential consultation.
Can You Be Fired While Taking FMLA Leave?
Taking FMLA leave does not make an employee immune to legitimate employment decisions. An employer may terminate an employee during protected leave for a lawful reason unrelated to the employee's exercise of FMLA rights.
The employer cannot, however, use FMLA leave as a negative factor when deciding whether to discipline or terminate an employee. When the reason for termination is disputed, our attorneys can investigate when the decision was made, who participated, and whether company records support the employer's explanation.
Do You Have the Right to Return to Your Job After FMLA Leave?
Employees returning from FMLA leave generally have the right to be restored to the same position they held before leave or to an equivalent position with equivalent pay, benefits, and other employment terms and conditions, subject to applicable FMLA requirements and exceptions.
An employer cannot avoid its restoration obligations simply because temporarily covering an employee's position became inconvenient. At the same time, the FMLA does not provide greater employment rights than the employee would have had if leave had never been taken.
What If You Need More Leave After FMLA Leave Expires?
Exhausting FMLA leave does not necessarily end an employer's legal obligations. If an employee has a qualifying disability, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) may require the employer to consider whether additional finite leave or another workplace adjustment would constitute a reasonable accommodation, unless providing the accommodation would create an undue hardship.
The ADA and FMLA are different laws with different eligibility requirements. Our attorneys can evaluate whether additional employment protections apply when an employee remains unable to return to work after exhausting FMLA leave, and our Nevada FMLA lawyers can explain how these protections apply statewide
How Our Las Vegas FMLA Lawyers Investigate Claim Violations
FMLA cases often require reconstructing what occurred over time rather than focusing solely on the final termination or disciplinary notice. Depending on the circumstances, our attorneys may examine:
- FMLA leave requests and related paperwork
- Medical certifications
- Communications with supervisors and Human Resources
- Work schedules and attendance records
- Payroll and timekeeping information
- Performance evaluations
- Disciplinary records
- Relevant internal communications
We then compare these materials with the timeline of the employee's leave and subsequent employment decisions. This approach helps determine what decision makers knew, when they knew it, and whether the reasons offered for an adverse action are supported by the underlying record.
How Long Do You Have to File an FMLA Lawsuit?
Federal FMLA claims generally have a two-year statute of limitations. The limitations period generally extends to three years for willful violations.
Because determining when a claim accrued and whether other employment laws also apply can affect the analysis, employees should not wait until a deadline is approaching to seek legal advice. Reach out as soon as possible to protect your legal rights.
What Remedies Are Available for an FMLA Violation?
The FMLA provides specific remedies rather than unlimited damages. Depending on the violation and resulting losses, an employee may recover lost wages, salary, employment benefits, or other compensation, plus interest.
The law can also provide liquidated damages in qualifying cases, equitable relief such as reinstatement or promotion when appropriate, and attorneys' fees and costs. Emotional distress and punitive damages are not ordinarily available under the FMLA itself, although separate claims arising from the same circumstances can involve different remedies.
Start your journey towards justice today by scheduling your free claim consultation
Frequently Asked Questions About FMLA Leave in Las Vegas
Can FMLA leave be taken intermittently?
Yes, qualifying FMLA leave can be taken intermittently or through a reduced work schedule when applicable requirements are satisfied. This can be important for recurring treatment or qualifying conditions that periodically prevent an employee from working.
Can my employer require me to use PTO while taking FMLA leave?
Under certain circumstances, an employer can require available paid leave to run concurrently with otherwise unpaid FMLA leave. The employer's policies and applicable FMLA rules determine how paid leave is coordinated.
Can my employer require medical certification?
Yes. Employers can require appropriate medical certification for certain FMLA leave requests. Employees generally must be given an opportunity to provide the required certification within the applicable timeframe.
What if my employer never told me that I qualified for FMLA leave?
Covered employers have responsibilities to provide employees with required FMLA notices. If an employer had enough information to recognize that leave might qualify but failed to provide required notices or designate leave appropriately, we can evaluate whether that failure interfered with your FMLA rights and caused legally recognized harm.
Reach Out to the Las Vegas FMLA Lawyers at Greenberg Gross LLP to Learn More
Employees are responsible for communicating their need for leave, but they should not have to act as their employer's FMLA compliance department. When management receives information indicating that an absence may qualify for protected leave, the employer's response can have lasting consequences for the employee's career.
Our Las Vegas FMLA lawyers examine what the employer knew, how it handled the leave request, whether protected absences influenced discipline or termination, and whether its explanations are supported by the employment record. When the evidence supports legal action, our attorneys are prepared to pursue the remedies available under federal law.
Call Greenberg Gross LLP at (702) 777-0888 or contact us online to schedule a confidential consultation with a Las Vegas FMLA lawyer to better understand your legal rights and options.