Philadelphia FMLA Lawyer

If you need a Philadelphia FMLA lawyer, chances are your employer has already shown you that doing the right thing was not enough. You told them about your medical condition, you filed the paperwork, and you requested the leave you were legally entitled to take. But instead of supporting you, your employer found ways to push back. 

Maybe they denied your request outright. Maybe they approved the leave but gave your position to someone else while you were recovering. Or maybe they waited until you returned and suddenly found a reason to let you go. 

At Greenberg Gross LLP, we represent Philadelphia employees whose rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act have been violated, and we fight to hold employers accountable when they break the law.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that gives eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave each year for qualifying medical and family reasons. If your employer has punished you, demoted you, or fired you for taking or requesting FMLA leave, you may have a legal claim worth pursuing.

Contact us today to discuss your case during a free, no obligation consultation.

Why Choose a Philadelphia FLMA Lawyer from Greenberg Gross LLP 

When your job is on the line and your employer has more resources and more attorneys than you do, you need a legal team that knows how to level the playing field. Greenberg Gross LLP is a trial law firm with a proven record of results in high-stakes employment cases across the country.

• Trial-tested advocacy. Our attorneys have secured multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements, including a $6.1 million judgment for whistleblower retaliation and a $10 million settlement for breach of contract. We prepare every case as if it is going to trial, and that preparation gives us strength at every stage of the process.
• A sense of mission. Our founders left one of the largest global law firms to build something different. We opened our doors with a commitment to performing at the highest level while genuinely caring about the people we represent.
• State-of-the-art trial preparation. Our legal team prepares cases with same rigor and precision that major cases demand. This level of preparation is a competitive advantage that directly benefits our clients.
• Recognized excellence. Our attorneys have been recognized by Super Lawyers, the Daily Journal's Top Plaintiffs' Firms list, and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). Our work has been featured on NBC News, Fox News, ABC News, and CBS News.

Whether you work in a Center City high-rise, a University City hospital, or a warehouse in the Northeast, your FMLA rights are the same. If those rights have been violated, our Pennsylvania Family Medical Leave Act lawyers want to hear from you. Call (855) 255-5515 for a confidential consultation with our employment law team.

What the FMLA Protects in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania does not have its own state-level family and medical leave law. That means the federal FMLA is the primary source of job-protected leave for employees across the commonwealth, from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh and everywhere in between.

Under the FMLA, eligible employees may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period for the following reasons:

• The birth of a child and bonding with a newborn within the first year
• The placement of a child through adoption or foster care
• Caring for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition
• The employee's own serious health condition that prevents them from performing essential job functions
• A qualifying need related to a family member's active military duty

The law also provides up to 26 weeks of leave in a single 12-month period for employees who need to care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness.

During FMLA leave, your employer must maintain your group health insurance coverage under the same terms as if you were still working. And when your leave ends, you have the right to return to the same position you held before, or one that is essentially identical in pay, benefits, and responsibilities.

Who Qualifies for FMLA Leave in Philadelphia

Not every employee is automatically covered by the FMLA. To be eligible, you must meet three requirements:

• You must work for a covered employer, meaning a private company with at least 50 employees, a public agency, or a public or private school.
• You must have worked for that employer for at least 12 months, though those months do not have to be consecutive.
• You must have logged at least 1,250 hours of work during the 12 months before your leave begins.

There is also a geographic requirement. Your employer must have at least 50 employees working within a 75-mile radius of your worksite. This is sometimes called the "50/75 rule."

These eligibility criteria matter. Some employers try to manipulate schedules, reduce hours, or reclassify employees to prevent them from qualifying. Under 29 CFR § 825.220, those tactics are illegal. 

The FMLA specifically prohibits employers from interfering with an employee's rights, including by changing job functions or transferring employees between worksites to avoid their obligations under the law.

How Philadelphia's Local Laws Add Another Layer of Protection

While Pennsylvania does not have its own family leave statute, Philadelphia employees do benefit from certain local protections that can work alongside the FMLA.

• Paid sick leave under the POWER Act. Philadelphia's paid sick leave ordinance, recently strengthened through the Protect Our Workers, Enforce Rights (POWER) Act, effective May 2025, requires employers with 10 or more employees to provide paid sick leave. Smaller employers must offer unpaid sick leave. This means many Philadelphia workers have access to paid time off for short-term illness or to care for a family member, separate from their FMLA entitlements.
• Domestic violence and sexual assault leave. Philadelphia law also requires employers to provide unpaid leave if an employee or their family member has been affected by domestic violence or sexual assault. This leave runs alongside, not in place of, FMLA leave when both apply.
• Anti-retaliation provisions. Both the POWER Act and the domestic violence leave ordinance include protections against employer retaliation. If your employer punishes you for using leave under either of these local laws, you may have additional legal claims beyond the FMLA.

An experienced Philadelphia FMLA attorney can help you determine which local, state, and federal laws apply to your situation and how to use them most effectively.

What a Serious Health Condition Means Under the FMLA

One of the most common reasons employers deny Family and Medical Leave Act requests is by challenging whether the employee's condition qualifies as a "serious health condition" under the law. The FMLA defines this broadly, but it does have specific criteria.

A serious health condition is an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves either:

• Inpatient care, meaning an overnight stay in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical facility
• Continuing treatment by a healthcare provider, which includes conditions that keep you out of work for more than three consecutive days and require ongoing medical attention

Chronic conditions like diabetes, asthma, epilepsy, and major depressive disorder generally qualify, as do conditions requiring multiple treatments, such as chemotherapy or physical therapy after surgery. Pregnancy and prenatal care are also covered.

Mental health conditions are often misunderstood in the FMLA context. If you have a chronic mental health condition that requires periodic treatment or causes occasional absences, you may be entitled to intermittent FMLA leave. Your employer cannot penalize you for taking that leave.

Intermittent Leave and Reduced Schedules

You do not always have to take FMLA leave in one continuous block. When medically necessary, you can take intermittent leave, meaning you take time off in smaller increments, such as a few hours or days at a time. Here is what you should know:

• Intermittent leave is common for chronic conditions. Employees managing conditions that require regular treatment, such as dialysis, chemotherapy, or recurring therapy sessions, can take FMLA leave in smaller blocks rather than all at once.
• Reduced schedules are also protected. If your doctor recommends a temporary reduction in your work hours as part of your treatment or recovery, that arrangement can qualify as FMLA leave. For example, shifting from full-time to part-time hours while recovering from surgery may be covered.
• Your employer can request a temporary transfer, but not a demotion. Your employer may ask you to move to an alternative position that better accommodates intermittent leave, but that position must have equivalent pay and benefits. They cannot use your need for intermittent leave as a reason to reduce your compensation or responsibilities.

Intermittent FMLA leave gives employees the flexibility to manage their health without sacrificing their careers, and employers are required to respect that flexibility.

What to Know About Filing an FMLA Claim

If you believe your employer has violated your rights under the FMLA, you have two main options. You can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, or you can file a lawsuit directly in court. You do not need to file a complaint with the government before going to court.

Here are a few important details to keep in mind:

• The statute of limitations is two or three years. FMLA claims must generally be filed within two years of the violation. If the violation was willful, meaning the employer knew what it was doing was wrong, that deadline extends to three years.
• You may be entitled to significant compensation. Successful FMLA claims can result in recovery of lost wages and benefits, compensation for other financial losses caused by the violation, reinstatement to your former position, and in some cases, liquidated damages that can effectively double your lost wages.
• Documentation strengthens your case. Save copies of leave requests, medical certifications, emails, text messages, performance reviews, and any communications that relate to your FMLA leave. These records often become the foundation of a strong claim.

The sooner you speak with an employment attorney who handles FMLA cases in Philadelphia, the better positioned you will be to preserve evidence and protect your rights.

FAQs Answered by Our Philadelphia FMLA Lawyers

Here are some of the questions we hear most often from employees across the Philadelphia area.

Talk to a Philadelphia FMLA Attorney at Greenberg Gross LLP

If you are a Philadelphia employee who has been denied FMLA leave, punished for requesting time off, or terminated after returning from medical leave, you do not have to face your employer alone. Greenberg Gross LLP brings the kind of litigation experience and trial preparation that makes a real difference in employment cases.

Our Philadelphia FMLA attorneys have secured major results for employees facing retaliation, discrimination, and other workplace violations, including a $6.1 million whistleblower retaliation judgment. With offices across the country and a commitment to representing clients in their most significant matters, we have the resources and the resolve to fight for you.

Call (855) 255-5515 for a confidential consultation with our employment law team. We are ready to listen, and we are ready to act.