Denial of Leave: FMLA

Discrimination: Denial of Leave: FMLA Forms and Services

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Has Amazon violated the FMLA?

Are you an Amazon employee, and has your life been affected by Amazon’s violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)?

Were you denied leave?

Did the company refuse to give you your job back when you returned from leave?

Have you been forced to quit your job, or have you been fired because of family and medical leave issues?

To help you decide whether to make a legal claim against Amazon, here are some things you should know about the FMLA.

Caregivers in the workforce

As the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) notes,

The prohibition against sex discrimination under Title VII has made it easier for women to enter the labor force. Since Congress enacted Title VII, the proportion of women who work outside the home has significantly increased, and women now comprise nearly half of the U.S. labor force. The rise has been most dramatic for mothers of young children, who are almost twice as likely to be employed today as were their counterparts 30 years ago.
…
Of course, workers’ caregiving responsibilities are not limited to childcare, and include many other forms of caregiving. An increasing proportion of caregiving goes to the elderly, and this trend will likely continue as the Baby Boomer population ages. As with childcare, women are primarily responsible for caring for society’s elderly, including care of parents, in-laws, and spouses.

Additionally,

Caring for individuals with disabilities – including care of adult children, spouses, or parents – is also a common responsibility of workers. According to the most recent U.S. census, nearly a third of families have at least one family member with a disability, and about one in ten families with children under 18 years of age includes a child with a disability.

Thus, as the EEOC notes,

You can learn more about the rights of caregivers here .

What is the FMLA?

As the US Department of Labor explains,

When you or a loved one experiences a serious health condition that requires you to take time off from work, the stress from worrying about keeping your job may add to an already difficult situation.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) may be able to help. Whether you are unable to work because of your own serious health condition, or because you need to care for your parent, spouse, or child with a serious health condition, the FMLA provides unpaid, job-protected leave. Leave may be taken all at once, or may be taken intermittently as the medical condition requires.

Who is covered by the FMLA?

Generally, private employers with at least 50 employees are covered by the FMLA. Clearly, Amazon (with more than a million workers) is covered.

However, not everyone who works for a covered employer is eligible for FMLA leave.

As the Department of Labor explains,

First, you must have worked for your employer for at least 12 months. You do not have to have worked for 12 months in a row (so seasonal work counts), but generally if you have a break in service that lasted more than seven years, you cannot count the period of employment prior to the seven-year break.

Second, you must have worked for the employer for at least 1250 hours in the 12 months before you take leave. That works out to an average of about 24 hours per week over the course of a year.

Lastly, you must work at a location where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles of your worksite. So even if your employer has more than 50 employees, if they are spread out and there are not 50 employees within 75 miles of where you work, you will not be eligible to take FMLA leave.

If all those criteria apply to you, then you’re eligible for leave under the FMLA.

How can you use FMLA leave?

An eligible employee can take up to 12 weeks of FMLA leave in any 12-month period, for a variety of reasons. These reasons include:

Dealing with a serious health condition for your spouse, child, or parent
When you can’t work because of your own serious health condition
Certain reasons related to military deployments
The birth of a child
The adoption of a child
Taking in a foster child

How does the FMLA protect you?

The FMLA only provides for unpaid leave – not paid leave. (Company policies and some state laws may provide for paid leave.)

As the Department of Labor explains,

If you take FMLA leave, your employer must continue your health insurance as if you were not on leave (you may be required to continue to make any normal employee contributions).

As long as you are able to return to work before you exhaust your FMLA leave, you must be returned to the same job (or one nearly identical to it). This job protection is intended to reduce the stress that you may otherwise feel if forced to choose between work and family during a serious medical situation.

Time off under the FMLA may not be held against you in employment actions such as hiring, promotions or discipline.

More information about the FMLA can be found here.

What damages are available for violations of the FMLA?

If you sue an employer for violations of the FMLA and win, a judge or jury could award the following types of compensation:

Lost back pay
Lost front pay (i.e., pay you would lose in the future as a result of your employer’s actions in the past)
Liquidated damages (equal to the lost back pay and front pay)
Reimbursement of your attorneys’ fees and costs

The FMLA doesn’t provide for damages for emotional distress or for punitive damages. However, some state laws on family and medical leave do allow such damages.

You may also be able to get a court order that the company has to give you your job back.

FMLA Violations at Amazon

As the New York Times reported, Amazon’s system for tracking paid and unpaid leave has been plagued with problems:

For at least a year and a half — including during periods of record profit — Amazon had been shortchanging new parents, patients dealing with medical crises and other vulnerable workers on leave, according to a confidential report on the findings.

For example,

Workers across the country facing medical problems and other life crises have been fired when the attendance software mistakenly marked them as no-shows, according to former and current human resources staff members, some of whom would speak only anonymously for fear of retribution. Doctors’ notes vanished into black holes in Amazon’s databases.

These problems are not just a huge hassle for Amazon workers. They could also violate the FMLA as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

What can you do if you experienced FMLA violations at Amazon?

If you experienced FMLA violations at Amazon, call attorney Cj Rosenbaum at 212-256-1109, text 212-256-8492, or email CJ@AmazonSellersLawyer.com. You can also submit a summary of your situation online .

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