As vacation spots and retirement destinations go, Alabama is the new Florida. Its beaches are as scenic as the ones in the Sunshine State, and the legendarily soft, white sand of the beaches of Florida’s Gulf Coast does not stop as soon as you pass the Florida Bar. Meanwhile, consumer prices are low in Alabama, even by Sun Belt standards. When you are an Alabama resident, though, and your only source of income is employment in Alabama, you find that there is barely enough money in your bank account to buy consumer goods at prices that look enticing to visitors who are just passing through.
Federal employment laws set minimum standards for worker protections in many matters, from rates of pay to characteristics protected from discrimination. States have the option to enact laws that increase those protections at the state level. In general, Alabama follows the federal laws as they are written and has not augmented them with state-level legislation; for example, pursuant to federal law, the minimum wage in Alabama is $7.25 per hour, whereas in some other states, the state minimum wage is more than double that amount. When it comes to family leave, the federal minimum standards also rule the day. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) lawyers at HKM Employment Attorneys in Huntsville can help you resolve disputes with your employer related to FMLA leave.
Who Is Eligible for FMLA Leave?
As policies regarding leaves of absence from work go, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is not especially generous. Federal law requires all states to implement FMLA as a minimum standard of protection for workers employed under certain conditions when these workers take a leave of absence from work for reasons related to their own health or because of obligations to care for a close family member.
Alabama follows FMLA as it is written at the federal level and does not have any other statewide protections for workers regarding family leave or medical leave. The bad news is that FMLA only provides for unpaid leaves of absence from work. In other words, FMLA requires your employer to let you return to your job at the same rate of pay after taking an unpaid leave of absence for health or family caregiving reasons, but it does not require your employer to pay you while you are on leave.
The worst news is that not all employers are required to provide FMLA leave, and not all workers are entitled to receive it. As a worker, you can only take FMLA leave if your employer has classified you as an employee instead of an independent contractor. That means that gig workers who get a 1099 at tax time are not eligible for FMLA leave. Furthermore, even if you are an employee, you can only take FMLA leave if you have spent at least 1,250 hours at work for the same employer in the year leading up to the beginning of your FMLA leave, and your leave cannot begin until at least a year after your first day of work.
The only employers who are required to provide FMLA leave are the ones who employ at least 50 employees within a 75-mile radius. That means that many small businesses are exempt from providing FMLA leave for their employees.
Your Rights if You Take FMLA Leave
FMLA entitles you to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period. The leave does not need to be consecutive. For example, you can take a six-week leave of absence to recover from a scheduled surgery, and you will still have six weeks of FMLA leave left for the year, plus the peace of mind that you can use it if you or someone in your family has a medical emergency. Likewise, if you have a chronic health condition that requires you to have frequent doctors’ appointments but does not usually require you to miss work, you can use your FMLA leave to cover half-days of work you must miss every few weeks throughout the year, even if you never miss an entire day of work for health reasons.
The health reasons for which you may take FMLA leave are almost limitless, including but not limited to the following:
- Accidental injuries that did not happen at work
- Noncommunicable illnesses, such as autoimmune diseases or cancer
- Infectious diseases, including but not limited to influenza, Streptococcus infections, or COVID-19
- Mental health conditions, such as anxiety or depression
Besides this, you can take FMLA leave to take care of a close family member, such as your spouse or child, when that person has a serious illness or injury. You can also use FMLA leave to care for a newborn, newly adopted, or newly fostered child. You still have the right to use FMLA leave if the child you have just adopted or fostered is not an infant and is old enough to attend school.
Taking FMLA leave is a legally protected activity. This means that it is against the law for your employer to retaliate against you because of the FMLA leave. Retaliation might take the form of firing you before you return to work, or it could simply mean subjecting your work to scrutiny or harassing you. Likewise, if you require disability accommodations upon returning to work after your FMLA leave, your employer must make reasonable accommodations. An employment lawyer can help you negotiate for reasonable accommodations when returning to work after FMLA leave.
Paid Family Leave in Alabama
Alabama law does not require employers to provide paid family leave. It does, however, allow insurers to offer paid family leave insurance. Whether your employer offers this insurance benefit is up to your employer’s discretion.
HKM Employment Attorneys for FMLA Disputes
The employment lawyers at HKM Employment Attorneys, LLP, can give you advice about family and medical leave and FMLA disputes. Contact our employment lawyers in Huntsville, Alabama to set up a consultation.
