Father Awarded Over $67,000 in Family, Medical Leave Act Case After Being Fired for Taking Time Off From Work to Care for Newborn and Spouse

A father in Georgia was wrongfully terminated from work following a requested time off to care for his newborn baby and wife, federal officials reported.

Investigators from the US Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found that the company U.S. Logistics Solutions Inc., under a large network of logistics providers in Humble, Texas, fired a dock supervisor at a distribution center in Covington, Georgia after exercising his right to request and use Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protected leave for parental bonding with his newborn baby and to care for a wife who is under a qualifying health condition, the USA Today reported.

In a news release by the US Department of Labor, the termination of the employee violated the FMLA, resulting in the employer, U.S. Logistics Solutions Inc., being ordered to pay $67,140 to the former employee. The amount consists of missed earnings after being fired, front pay for one year and unpaid earned time off.

"Employers cannot deprive an employee eligible for Family and Medical Leave of their legal rights, and force them to make the hard choice between keeping their jobs and caring for themselves or their families," Steven Salazar, Wage and Hour Division District Director in Atlanta, explained.

Further, the US Department of Labor statement stated that the federal law prohibits employers from fighting back against their workers who wants to exercise their legal rights for parental bonding.   

Withheld parental leave

According to the US Department of Labor, the employer withheld parental leave from the father despite being aware that they just gave birth.

Forty-two days after the child's birth, June 2, 2022, U.S. Logistics Solutions Inc. demanded the presence of the employee for a meeting to discuss that his FMLA request to care for his newborn and spouse has been denied. And worse, he was being alleged for payroll theft. He was then informed that he was being fired.

On June 9, 2022, the employer notified the employee that his FMLA parental bonding request dated April 13, 2022, eight days before the baby was born, had been canceled by the company. Investigators discovered that there was failure of notification to the employee regarding the cancellation before June of 2022.

Read More: NICU Mom Tiktoks the Bitter Reality of 'Maternity Leave' in the US

What is FMLA?

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that requires employers of a certain size to offer employees with unpaid time off for serious family health issues or situations such as pregnancy, foster care placement, family or personal illness or medical reasons or military leave. Employees are given the right to have at most 12 weeks of "unpaid, job-protected" family leave.

Further, the FMLA's intention is to provide families with the time and resources to handle family emergencies, while guiding employers at the same time.

Continuation of insurance coverage and job protection while the employee is on leave is protected and provided under the law. It also guarantees that when the employee comes back to work after the leave, they will be returning to the same job they had before they took the leave. However, if the job is no longer available, another job should be offered with the same pay and status.

Just in the fiscal year 2022, the Wage and Hour Division has already investigated 780 FMLA complaints and was able to recover over $870,000 in back wages for violations.

Related article: 'Meternity' Author Meghann Foye Believes All Women Should Get Paid Maternity Leave - Regardless If They're Pregnant Or Not