FMLA lawsuits on the rise while employers crackdown on “FMLA abuse”

A new study from Bloomberg shows that workers filed more lawsuits under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in 2015 than in previous years. At the same time, employers continue to try to detect “FMLA abuse,” which occurs when employees take FMLA leave they are not entitled to take. These two trends may not be unrelated.

When an employee uses FMLA leave, a business that has not properly planned for its employees to take FMLA leave can feel some strain. Good businesses should plan for employees to use FMLA leave because people inevitably get sick, get pregnant, and experience other life events that trigger the need for FMLA leave. If managers don’t have a plan for picking up the slack when employees take FMLA leave—rather than blame themselves for poor planning—they will sometimes try to find evidence that an employee actually didn’t need FMLA leave. They then can fire the employee for FMLA abuse. Overly zealous managers, who too quickly assume that employees have abused FMLA leave, can violate employees’ FMLA rights if they falsely conclude that employees have abused FMLA leave. Thus, ironically, it could be the overly zealous actions of employers trying to catch employees committing FMLA abuse that has led to a surge in FMLA lawsuits.

If your employer is accusing you of FMLA abuse, you should contact an experienced employment lawyer immediately. There are steps you should and should not take in order to protect your job and, if necessary, hold your employer accountable for violating your rights.