Medical Leaves

The employment lawyers at Rabner Baumgart Ben-Asher & Nirenberg, P.C. represent employees who are seeking to take medical leaves, were denied the right to return to work from a medical leave, or experienced retaliation because they took a medical leave. This includes handling claims under the Family & Medical Leave Act ("FMLA").

The FMLA is a federal law that guarantees covered employees the right to take up to 12 weeks off from work per year for reasons, including for the employee’s own serious health condition.

To be covered by the FMLA, you need to have worked (1) for the employer for at least 12 months; (2) at least 1,250 hours during the previous 12 months; and (3) in a location that has at least 50 employees within a 75 mile radius.

One of the primary protections offered by the FMLA is that, with limited exceptions, employees who take protected time off are entitled to return to their previous jobs, or an equivalent one, when they return to work at the end of their leaves. In other words, it requires your employer either to reinstate you to your job, or find you a similar job in terms of the job duties, salary, benefits and office location.

That being said, employees on FMLA leaves still can be fired for reasons that are not related to their time off from work. For example, an employer has the right to lay off an employee who is on a medical leave as long as its decision is unrelated to the employee's legally-protected leave of absence.

The FMLA also make it illegal for employers to retaliate against employees who request time off under it. For example, it would violate the law for an employer to fire, demote or harass an employee because he or she took time off pursuant to the FMLA.

If you would like to discuss your legal claim or issue with one of our New Jersey medical leave lawyers, then please contact us online, or call us at (201) 777-2250, to schedule an initial consultation. We will evaluate your situation, explain your legal rights to you, and provide you advice about the best way to enforce your legal rights.

The FMLA does not require employers to pay employees while they are on a medical leave.

However, disabled employees in New York and New Jersey may be eligible for state disability insurance benefits. In addition, employees can use their accrued paid time off, such as vacation and sick time, during a protected leave. Further, although employers are not required to do so, some have policies pursuant to which they pay employees for part or all of the time they are on a medical leave, or offer their workers private short term disability insurance benefits.

If you are not covered by the FMLA, or if you have used up your 12 weeks of FMLA leave, you still may be entitled to time off as a reasonable accommodation for a disability. Our New Jersey medical leave attorneys can help employees who are entitled to take time off due to a medical condition, whether or not it is covered by the FMLA.

In addition to allowing employees to take time off for their own serious health conditions, the FMLA, as well as the New Jersey Family Leave Act (“NJFLA”), permit employees to take time off to care for members of their immediate family who have a serious health condition. For more information, please see our family leaves page.

While it might not always be covered by the FMLA or the NJFLA, the NJ SAFE Act entitles employees to take time off after they, or a member of their immediate family, have been the victim of domestic violence or a sexual assault. You can learn more about the NJ SAFE Act on our discrimination against victims of domestic violence page.

For more information about your legal rights, please see our four-part series of Frequently Asked Questions About the FMLA, which was written by our New Jersey medical leave lawyers:

• Part I: FMLA Basics
• Part II: Types of FMLA Leaves
• Part III: Requesting an FMLA Leave
• Part IV: Reinstatement and Remedies