Family Medical Leave in ChicagoFamily is important in Illinois. Many employees are allowed to take extended time away from work to handle certain family or medical matters under the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). However, not every employer is required to provide its employees with family or medical leave. FMLA only covers public agencies, private and public elementary and secondary schools, and employers that employ 50 or more workers. There are constantly new developments and changes in family medical leave laws. If you need advice on an employment law issue, including family medical leave, you should speak with a Chicago employment lawyer. |
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows qualified employees to take up to 12 weeks off work due to family or emergency reasons. However, not every emergency qualifies as protected leave and taking protected time off work may be tougher than you think.
Top 5 FMLA reasons for leave can include:
You may be feeling stressed at work or just not enjoying work very much. You may have heard of colleagues who have taken stress leave under the FMLA and taken three months off. Now, as temperatures reach record highs in Chicago, your kids may be clamoring for a summer vacation and you may be considering taking some much deserved time off work too.
But the FMLA eligibility requirements are pretty strict and not just anyone can qualify for leave. Generally, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows qualified employees to take up to 12 weeks off work for certain serious health conditions. To be a qualified employee, employees have to first jump through certain high hurdles.
After waging what would seem like a war against the unions, Mayor Rahm Emanuel is now considering giving some city workers a benefit that they surprisingly do not already enjoy — paid maternity leave.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Emanuel is currently undergoing a comprehensive review of employee leaves including maternity leave policies. While Emanuel is likely to streamline — and reduce — employee leaves of absence, the mayor is also considering giving paid maternity leave to over 10,000 female city employees.
According to The ABA Journal, Facebook’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg has brought up a work-life balance problem that many Chicago women have likely encountered.
She highlighted three reasons why many women, particularly those in law, may not be getting into top leadership positions in the workplace. She explained that most women often:
Intrigued yet?
Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias signed an executive order extending rights and benefits already provided to spouses of married employees to the domestic partners of gay and lesbian employees, the Chicago Daily Herald reported. The order is effective immediately.
Specifically, the Family and Medical Leave Act will cover not just the spouses and children of married couples but also the partners of gay and lesbian State Treasury Dept. employees. Roughly 180 individuals are employed by the office, according to the Chicago Tribune.
FMLA provides up to 12 unpaid weeks of leave to care for a spouse, child or parent. The order also provides protected bereavement leave for domestic partners. Before the order, gay Treasury Dept. workers couldn't simply call a Chicago employment lawyer and file suit if they were fired after taking medical leave to care for their partner.
Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) regulations require employers with 50 or more employees to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid sick leave, according to FindLaw. Employees threatened with termination for calling in sick may benefit from contacting a Chicago employment lawyer.
But despite federal protections, missing out on a day's wages is not an option for many struggling workers.
While the FMLA protects employees from being fired when calling in sick, an article in Food Safety News argues that restaurants and other food-based businesses would be better off providing compensation to sick employees. Since restaurant workers earn an average of only $17,844 per year, according to In These Times, many of them can't afford to take the day off when they are ill.
Federal protections under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 prevent US workers who take time off for illness or to care for a family member from being subject to disciplinary action, as explained by FindLaw. But Illinois employment lawyers will tell you that the employer is not required to pay you while you're out on sick leave.
That means those working a part-time wage job or otherwise lacking paid sick day benefits often must choose between their health and the prospect of lost wages, according to an article published by Northwestern University's Medill Reports.
But stalled state legislation offers hope for Illinois workers who struggle with this tough decision.
As our military servicemen and women prepare for a second or third trip back to Iraq or Afghanistan, the last thing they should have to worry about is whether or not they'll be able to spend quality time with loved ones.
Thankfully, the federal Family Medical Leave Act, or FMLA, provides protected leave for the family members of US service men and women who are called up for active duty (DOL). While it's unpaid leave, it guarantees that employees can take time off to spend with a soon-to-be-deployed family member or care for a family member injured during active duty.
