DOL targeting employers for FMLA violations

April 7, 2022

From Business Management Daily

Workers who believe they were unlawfully denied FMLA leave usually head directly to federal court to file lawsuits. Unlike most federal employment laws, the FMLA doesn’t require any preliminary agency action—like filing an EEOC complaint—before litigation can begin.

That doesn’t mean employers can rest easy if they haven’t been served with notice of a federal FMLA lawsuit. The DOL could still decide to bring its own action.

Case in point: Employees of Los Angeles International Airport complained to the DOL that they sometimes had to wait a full month before their requests for FMLA leave were processed and approved or rejected.

LAX’s FMLA approval process involved five levels of review before the requests finally landed in HR. Even then, HR routinely requested second certifications from its own in-house physician, which FMLA rules specifically forbid. Employees also were disciplined for medical absences while FMLA requests were pending.

LAX has now agreed to implement a new web-based tool that lets workers obtain FMLA leave approvals within 24 hours. Second opinions will no longer be routinely required. Discipline was expunged for employees whose FMLA requests had been delayed or rejected.

Thank you, 

Your VertiSource HR Team

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