Medical Leave
Medical Leave Attorney in Birmingham, AL
Also serving Auburn,
Huntsville, Florence, Mobile, Montgomery, Opelika, Tuscaloosa, and all of Alabama
The Family and Medical Leave Act & The Pregnancy Discrimination Act
Depending on the number of employees working for your employer at or near your work site, you may be legally entitled to take medical leave under the federal “Family and Medical Leave Act.”
If you are entitled to take such leave, your employer cannot fire you or otherwise retaliate against you for exercising the right to use Family and Medical Leave.
The Family and Medical Leave Act protects employees who need to be absent from work because of an overnight stay in the hospital or serious health condition.
The absence from work may be for the employee’s own overnight stay in the hospital, serious health condition, care of a child under the age of 18, OR the care of a parent. The absence from work may be for the employee’s birth of a child or adoption of a child. The FMLA covers maternity leave and paternity leave.
The “Pregnancy Discrimination Act” protects women from discrimination in the workplace because of their pregnancy. If your employer does not honor work accommodations because of your pregnancy, but does honor work accommodations of other employees, you may have rights under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.
This legal right even applies to “at-will” employees and allows an employee who has been victimized by an employer that has refused to meet its obligations under these Acts to bring a lawsuit for damages against the employer. Such an employee may even be awarded reimbursement for attorney fees.
If you exercise your FMLA rights or inform your employer you are pregnant, you are protected by anti-retaliation statutes.
If you believe you are the victim of wrongful termination or discrimination because you asked to use FMLA leave, used FMLA leave, or are pregnant, please contact us right away.
Call Attorney Allen D. Arnold today at 205-252-1550
for a free consultation or fill out our Confidential Consultation Form.
Depending on the circumstances, the statute of limitations is limited, so contact us now.