Pregnant women in California and elsewhere are protected by law from most types of employment discrimination. For instance, it is illegal to refuse to hire someone because of a pregnancy. It is also illegal for an employer to fire a worker after becoming pregnant....
Family And Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Employee terminated after not responding to email
California employers are generally allowed to check up on employees while they are on FMLA leave. This was according to a Texas court's ruling in response to a lawsuit from an employee who was terminated for attending a Beyonce concert. The woman claimed that her...
How natural disasters affect FLSA and FMLA
Natural disasters such as Hurricane Harvey may raise issues between some employees and employers regarding the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act. If a person is on FMLA leave when a natural disaster occurs that results in the employer...
Employees advised to keep records about family leave
The Family and Medical Leave Act and the California Family Rights Act create a legal framework to protect qualifying employees from job loss during a health crisis or when a relative requires care. Because disputes among employers and workers are increasing, some...
Equitable estoppel can apply to the FMLA
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was enacted to provide employees the ability to take a leave of absence for medical or family issues without fear of losing employment. The act as written applies only to companies with over 50 employees. However, one court has...
Employers can terminate an employee for FMLA fraud
Many California workers know that the Family and Medical Leave Act is designed to protect them in the event they must take time off work for family or medical reasons. However, a court case showed that a worker can still be terminated from his or her job while on FMLA...
Providing incorrect legal information may cost employers
California residents may be interested in a legal case involving an employee and her company, Miller Compressing Company. The circumstances of the case began in 2011 and were affirmed by Seventh Circuit in 2017 in favor of the employee.The case involved the Family...
Timing of termination matters to claims of retaliation
The law could view a California employer as retaliating against an employee if the company terminates the person's employment only a short time after the person engages in protected activity. A ruling from a federal appeals court illustrates this concept of temporal...
FMLA leave and “in loco parentis”
A California employer of a worker who has applied for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act to care for someone who is not legally or biologically the employee's parent or child might still be required to grant that employee FMLA leave. "In loco parentis"...
Fired employee’s FMLA case can go forward
Communication between California employers and their employees could prevent court battles over the right to take leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. The case of a man fired by a credit union hinged upon insufficient communication. Although a federal...
