Most employers know that under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), employees who have worked at least one year (and at least 1,250 hours in that year) have the right to take leave for their own or a close family member’s serious health condition, among other reasons. And most employers that are subject to the FMLA (those that have at least 50 employees) understand that denying a qualified employee the right to take that leave would be a violation of the FMLA, as would retaliating against the employee for taking protected leave. But what about an employer that simply discourages employees from using available FMLA leave? Can that alone – simply suggesting it would better not to take FMLA leave, even if the request itself is not denied – violate the law?
That was the issue recently put before a federal appeals court. The case involved Salvatore Ziccarelli, a Cook County Sheriff’s Office correctional officer. Officer Ziccarelli had worked for the Sheriff’s Office for 27 years, during which time he developed a number of health conditions, including work-related post-traumatic stress disorder (“PTSD”). In September 2016, he already had used more than two-thirds of the 12 weeks he was entitled to take as FMLA leave pursuing treatment for his PTSD. He then asked the Sheriff’s Office’s FMLA benefits manager to use some of his remaining FMLA hours, as well as his regular leave and sick time benefits, to attend an intensive PTSD treatment program. The benefits manager allegedly...
Social media was flooded with claims that a girl had been assaulted by alleged Hindu and RSS supporters in the presence of Delhi Police personnel, who supposedly remained silent spectators. The cl...