Are you an employee looking to take family, medical, or military leave, and your employer is trying to prevent it? If so, it may benefit you to contact a Louisville employment lawyer from our firm. Under federal and state laws, you have the right to go on leave for an extended period of time for certain family matters, health issues, or military service. At Biesecker Dutkanych & Macer, LLC, our team is devoted to making sure the rights of employees are protected. By working in the employment legal field alone, we are able to stay on top of every law pertaining to our practice, and provide our clients with the diligent and effective counsel they deserve.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

The FMLA allows eligible employees to take time off for specified family or medical reasons. During this time of leave, the employee's health insurance coverage will remain under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave at all.

An employee may qualify for FMLA leave if:

• They have a newborn child.
• They are recovering from a serious health condition.
• They must care for a family member who has a serious health condition.
• They need to handle specific demands resulting from a family member's active military duty.
• They need to care for a family member who was seriously injured while on active duty.

Foreseeable versus Unforeseeable Leave

To qualify for these leave rights, you must meet the notice and FMLA paperwork requirements. The amount of notice you must give depends on why you need leave. If your need for leave is foreseeable, you must give at least 30 days of notice. However, there are exceptions to this. For example, if you have a parent that is terminally ill, you will most likely be unable to determine when you need to leave to care for them, and do not need to give 30 days of notice.

Unforeseeable leave is granted when an employee does not know in advance that they will need to leave. This may entail the employee having a heart attack, or an employee's spouse getting injured while on active military duty. In these types of situations, employees are required to give notice as soon as possible under the given circumstances. 

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)

The USERRA provides strong protection for employees who take time off of work to serve in the United States Armed Forces. Under USERRA, it is prohibited for men and women of the military to be discriminated against by an employer, regardless of the size of the company. Employers also must provide workers with time off for their service. In addition, employees who leave for military duty have the right to reinstate at their company, so long as they meet certain conditions.

To reinstate in the company, the employee must have:

• Notified the employer prior to the leave that it was for military duty
• Spent five years or less on leave
• Received honorable release from military service
• Met specific time limits to apply for reinstatement

As long as the employee is still qualified to fulfill the duties they had prior to leaving, they have the right to return to the position he or she would have held if they worked through the leave.

Small Firm Attention, Big Firm Results

At Biesecker Dutkanych & Macer, LLC, we have the ability to provide the personalized attention of a small firm, combined with the results of a large firm. Protect your rights as an employee! Contact our firm today to get started with your case evaluation. 

For the convenience of our clients, we have offices located in Louisville, Evansville, Indianapolis, Nashville, and Troy.