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Work Injury Lawyer
Careers can be a great source of personal fulfillment and pride. They are the ways that people provide for their families and support their needs. However, sometimes family circumstances and sickness can lead to the need to be away from work for an extended period of time. In order to protect employees from harassment at work when needing time off for medical reasons as well as to protect the families of employees, the Family and Medical Leave Act was passed. For eligible employees, it provides time off for personal sickness, sickness of an immediate family member or maternity leave.
Personal Sickness
The Family and Medical Leave Act covers major health events such as surgery. After the return to work, the employee must be restored to his or her former position or a comparable one. This is to protect the employee from being demoted due to time off work related to health concerns. An employee should not have to feel that their job is threatened because of a serious illness or condition.
Sickness of Immediate Family Member
Immediate family members are considered spouses, children and parents. If any of these individuals in the employee’s life becomes critically ill, companies are required by law to allow eligible persons to receive family need. This can include time needed away from work-related to situations involving military service of an immediate family member. With the protection of this act, employees are able to focus on the family’s needs without having to worry about losing a job.
Maternity Leave
Prenatal and postnatal care are important for the physical, mental and emotional health of the mother and father as well as for the baby. Giving employees the necessary time to recover from childbirth or caring for a spouse who has given birth is covered under this act for a specified amount of time for qualifying employees. To meet qualifications, employees must have worked for the company for an appropriate length of time and have clocked enough hours to be considered eligible.
To ensure that the Family and Medical Leave Act is correctly followed through, there must be cooperation and understanding for both the employer and employees. If you are unsure about what is covered under this act, speak to the human resources manager at your company to learn the eligibility requirements and benefits. Also, when the situation allows, give ample notice for arrangements to be made during your leave. When both sides cooperate, the Family and Medical Leave Act can function as it was meant to be. If you have questions about your specific case, please contact a workers’ compensation attorney at Franks, Koenig & Neuwelt today to learn more.
