The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) helps to protect a healthy work-life balance. Professionals who have held their jobs for at least a year and who work for companies with 50 or more employees can potentially take unpaid leave in qualifying circumstances.
Most professionals are eligible for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the FMLA per year. The law prohibits retaliation and requires that employers allow workers to return to the same position they previously held or to a position that has a similar title and comparable compensation. In some cases, employers unfairly terminate workers during their FMLA leave or upon their return to work.
When that happens, workers may have grounds to take legal action by alleging retaliation and/or discrimination. The timing of a termination may provide the basis for a claim of retaliation, but the worker and their attorney must meet a specific legal threshold to show that the employer violated the worker’s rights as well.
What is the ‘but-for’ standard?
Temporal proximity involves a termination that occurs during leave, immediately after a worker’s return to work or following their request for FMLA leave. The two events occur close enough to one another to question whether one influenced the other.
Many employers attempt to justify wrongful terminations by offering alternate explanations. They may claim the worker had attendance issues, that there were disciplinary concerns or that performance problems justify the termination.
The worker and their attorney must show that those claims are merely a pretext to hide the truth of what was actually a retaliatory firing. Establishing temporal proximity or questionable timing is only one element of an FMLA retaliation claim.
The worker’s lawyer must also convince the courts that the termination would not have occurred but for the worker’s request for FMLA leave. They must counter the pretext provided as a justification for the worker’s termination and establish that the decision unfairly related to the worker’s legally-protected right to request FMLA leave.
If an attorney can convince the courts that a company unfairly terminated a worker because they requested FMLA leave and not due to attendance, disciplinary or performance issues, the worker may receive compensation for the economic damages triggered by their termination or even reinstatement to their position. Reviewing the circumstances leading to an FMLA-related termination with a skilled legal team can help professionals hold their employers accountable for violating their rights accordingly.