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This Illinois Human Resources Manual is offered to you for free. Find state specific laws and regulations below.

Family and medical leave — Illinois

In Illinois, various federal and state laws provide employees with the right to take certain protected leaves of absences from work. Illinois does not have its own Family and Medical Leave Act. Illinois employers, however, must comply with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, as well as other forms of leave permitted by Illinois law. Employers that have employees working in the city of Chicago or in certain municipalities located in Cook County may have additional paid sick leave requirements as well. In general, the federal statute, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in any of the following situations:

  • to recover from illness or pregnancy
  • to care for sick family members
  • as part of the recent changes to FMLA regulations, for qualifying exigencies arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, child, or parent is on, or has been notified of an impending call to, active duty with the Armed Forces.

This chapter provides an overview of the general framework of each statute of the FMLA.

Coverage

A private employer is covered under the FMLA if it employs 50 or more employees each working day for 20 or more full (not necessarily consecutive), calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year. Once a private employer satisfies these thresholds, the employer remains covered until it no longer employs at least 50 employees during 20 non-consecutive workweeks in both the current and preceding calendar years. The definition for “employee” under the FMLA is relatively broad and includes:

  • employees on the payroll even if no compensation is received (a temporary employee who is between assignments)
  • employees on leave if there is a reasonable expectation they will return
  • part-time employees.

Public employers

All public employers and educational agencies are covered under the FMLA, regardless of whether they meet the private employer threshold requirements.

Eligible employees

For an employee to be entitled to FMLA leave, the employee must have:

  • worked for a covered employer (public or private) for at least 12 months (these 12 months do not need to be consecutive)
  • worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12‑month period that immediately precedes the start of the FMLA leave.

These eligibility requirements are calculated as of the date the employee commences leave, and not from the date the employee requests leave. The employee must also be employed at a location where the employer employs at least 50 employees within a 75‑mile radius of the job site where the employee requesting leave is employed. These requirements are calculated from the date the employee requests leave.

Leave requirements

An employee need not specifically request protection under the FMLA. Rather, the employee must only provide notice and a qualifying reason for requesting leave to the covered employer. A covered employer must provide an eligible employee with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for any of the following reasons:

  • the birth of a child, and to care for the newborn child within one year of birth
  • the placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care, and to care for the newly placed child within one year of placement
  • to care for a child, parent, or spouse who suffers from a serious health condition, which may include either physical or psychological care
  • a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform one or more of the essential functions of the job
  • for a qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that employee’s spouse, son or daughter (of any age), or parent is on active duty or call to active-duty status
  • to care for a current member of the Armed Forces (including National Guard and Reserves) with a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty on active duty.

Defining "Spouse"

Effective March 27, 2015, The Department of Labor amended its definition of “spouse” in the FMLA regulations to include eligible employees in legal same-sex marriages, regardless of where they live. The DOL adopted a “place of celebration” rule, which allows all legally married couples, whether opposite-sex, same-sex, or married under common law, to have consistent federal family leave rights regardless of where they live. Employers should review their policies to confirm compliance with this new definition. Updates and additional information regarding the FMLA’s definition of “spouse” may be found on the Department of Labor’s website. See:

Military caregiver leave

A “serious injury or illness” is one that may render the service member medically unfit to perform duties and for which he or she is undergoing treatment, therapy, recuperation, or otherwise on the military’s temporary disability retired list.

Under the Illinois Family Military Leave Act, companies who between 15 and 50 workers must provide spouses and parents of soldiers up to 15 days of unpaid leave; employers with more than 50 employees need to offer 30 days of leave. There are numerous restrictions under the Illinois Family Military Leave Act. They include the following:

  • the person called to military service must be on a tour longer than 30 days
  • to be eligible for family military leave an employee must be employed for at least 12 months with the current employer and must have worked at least 1,250 hours in the previous 12 months.
  • if the family military leave will consist of five or more consecutive work days, the employee must give 14 days notice
  • upon request by an employer, an employee may been to provide certification for the appropriate military authority to verify the employee’s eligibility for family military leave
  • employees are not to receive leave under the Illinois Family Military Leave Act unless he or she has first exhausted all accrued vacation, personal and all other leave (except sick leave).

Leave based on qualifying exigency

A qualifying exigency may include:

  • short-notice deployment
  • military events and related activities
  • childcare and school activities
  • financial and legal arrangements
  • counseling
  • rest and recuperations
  • post-deployment activities and additional activities, provided that the employer and employee agree that such leave shall qualify as an exigency and agree to both the timing and duration of such leave.

If spouses work for the same employer, the FMLA entitles them to an aggregate of 12 weeks of leave per 12-month period for birth, adoption, foster care, or to care for a sick parent. Each spouse, however, is entitled to the remainder of his or her 12-week entitlement for any other qualifying leave. The employer must provide requested leave under any of the following circumstances:

  • a serious health condition of the employee
  • the birth of the employee’s or the employee’s domestic partner’s child
  • the placement of a child 16 years of age or less with the employee or with the employee’s domestic partner in connection with the adoption of the child by the employee or the employee’s domestic partner
  • a child, domestic partner’s child, parent, domestic partner, sibling, or spouse with a serious health condition
  • the donation of an organ of that employee for a human organ transplant
  • the death or serious health condition of the employee’s spouse, domestic partner, parent, sibling or child if the spouse, domestic partner, parent, sibling or child as a member of the state military forces or the United States Armed Forces, including the National Guard and Reserves, dies or incurs a serious health condition while on active duty.

Illinois Family Military Leave Act

The Illinois Family Military Leave Act requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide unpaid leave to any employee who is the parent or spouse of an individual called to military service lasting more than 30 days. Employers with 15-50 employees must provide up to 15 days of leave and employers of more than 50 employees must provide up to 30 days of leave.

In order to qualify, an employee must have worked for the company for at least 12 months and for a total of at least 1,250 hours over the previous year. Employees must give at least 14 days’ notice if the leave is going to last for more than five days. However, employees do not become eligible for Family Military Leave until they have depleted all vacation time and other types of leave, except for sick leave and disability leave. In Illinois, employees who are victims of domestic violence may also be entitled to leave.

Calculating the eligible period

Employees are entitled to 12 weeks of FMLA leave during any 12-month period. The 12-month period may be calculated in any of the following ways:

  • a calendar year
  • a fixed 12-month period, such as a fiscal year or year that renews on the employee’s anniversary date (the date the employee was hired or deemed a permanent employee)
  • a 12-month period counted forward from the first day the employee takes leave
  • a rolling 12-month period measured backward from the date the employee uses any FMLA leave
  • for employees on military caregiver leave (who are entitled to 26 workweeks in a single 12-month period) the single 12-month period begins on the first day of leave, regardless of how the employer calculates the 12-month period for other FMLA leave.

Most employers prefer the rolling method or the counting forward method because such methods prevent an employee from joining multiple leave periods together by taking 12 weeks of leave at the end of a calendar year and then 12 weeks of leave at the beginning of the next calendar year for a total of 24 consecutive weeks.

The employer must designate which method it wishes to use to calculate the 12-month leave periods and apply the method uniformly and consistently. If the employer fails to select a method and notify the employees of which method applies, the method most beneficial to the employee will apply. If an employer changes methods, it must notify employees at least 60 days in advance of implementing and enforcing such change.

Intermittent leave and reduced leave schedule

The FMLA defines “intermittent leave” as leave taken in separate blocks of time due to a single qualifying condition. A “reduced leave schedule” is a change from full-time to part-time employment. An employee is entitled to take intermittent FMLA leave or reduced leave where it is “medically necessary” to care for a serious health condition of the employee or the employee’s immediate family member. An employee may also take intermittent or reduced schedule leave for a service member’s illness or injury if there is a medical need for leave that is best accommodated through intermittent leave. With respect to intermittent FMLA leave or reduced leave related to the adoption or birth of a child, however, an employee may take such leave only with the employer’s consent.

If an employee has made a request for intermittent leave or a reduced leave schedule, an employer is entitled to temporarily transfer employees to an “alternative position” for the duration of the intermittent or reduced leave, provided that the employee both:

  • receives equivalent pay and benefits
  • is returned to his or her prior position after the period of leave has ended.

Benefits may be reduced proportionate to the number of hours worked only if such reduction is normal practice.

Serious health condition

The FMLA defines the term “serious health condition” as an illness, impairment, or physical or mental condition involving at least one of the following situations:

  • Inpatient care at a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility
  • Continuing treatment by a health care provider, which is defined as:
    • absence plus treatment - which is a period of incapacity of more than three consecutive days that also involves either two or more treatments by a health care provider, or treatment by a health care provider which results in a regimen of continuing treatment and supervision
    • “incapacity” is the inability to work, attend school or perform other regular daily activities due to the serious health condition, treatment for the serious health condition, or recovery from the serious health condition.
    • “treatment” includes (but is not limited to) examinations to determine if a serious health condition exists and evaluations of the condition. Treatment does not include routine physical examinations, eye examinations, or dental examinations
    • a “regimen of continuing treatment” includes a course of prescription medication, or therapy requiring special equipment, to resolve or alleviate the health condition
    • a “regimen of continuing treatment” that simply includes the taking of over-the-counter medications, bed rest, drinking fluids, exercise, or other similar activities that can be initiated without a visit to a health care provider, is not alone sufficient to constitute a “regimen of continuing treatment” for purposes of the FMLA.
  • Pregnancy, which is defined as a period of incapacity due to pregnancy or for pre-natal care, including severe morning sickness.
  • Chronic conditions requiring treatment, which would be any period of incapacity due to a chronic condition requiring treatment. A chronic condition is one that is comprised of all of the following factors:
    • requires periodic visits or treatments by a health care provider
    • continues over an extended period of time
    • may cause episodic periods of incapacity.
  • Treatment or a visit to a health care provider is not required for every absence. Examples of chronic conditions requiring treatment are diabetes and asthma.
  • Permanent or long-term conditions requiring supervision which can be a period of incapacity for permanent or long-term conditions requiring supervision and involving treatments which may not be effective. Examples of such conditions are Alzheimer’s disease and terminal cancer.
  • Multiple treatments for non-chronic conditions which can be a period of absence to receive multiple treatments by a health care provider for a condition that would likely result in incapacity for more than three consecutive calendar days if left untreated. Examples of such treatments include chemotherapy, radiation, and physical therapy.

Several types of illnesses or injuries are specifically excluded from the definition of serious health condition in the regulations. Some examples include the following:

  • Absence because of substance abuse itself will not qualify an employee for FMLA leave. However, substance abuse may be a “serious health condition” if the other conditions are met, and FMLA leave may be taken for treatment of substance abuse by a health care provider, such as enrollment in a drug rehabilitation program.
  • Cosmetic treatment will not qualify an employee for FMLA leave unless inpatient hospital care is required or complications develop.
  • Ordinarily, common cold, flu, earaches, upset stomach, minor ulcers, headaches other than migraines, routine dental or orthodontia problems and periodontal disease will not qualify an employee for FMLA leave. However, like the other examples, any of these illnesses or conditions may be classified as a serious health condition if complications arise or any of the other conditions are met.

Healthcare provider

The FMLA defines “health care provider” as a doctor of medicine or osteopathy who is authorized to practice medicine or surgery (as appropriate) by the state in which the doctor practices, or any other person determined by the Secretary of Labor to be capable of providing health care services. The regulations include in this definition podiatrists, dentists, clinical psychologists, optometrists, and chiropractors (limited to treatment consisting of manual manipulation of the spine to correct a subluxation as demonstrated by X-ray) who are authorized to practice in the state. Also included in the regulations are nurse practitioners, nurse mid-wives, clinical social workers, and physician assistants who are authorized to practice in the state and performing within the scope of their practices as defined under state law.

Maintenance of benefits during leave

While the act does not require a covered employer to pay employees during FMLA leave, the employer must continue to provide eligible employees any employment benefit that they may have accrued prior to beginning FMLA leave.

If benefits are added or changed during the leave, the employee is also entitled to those modifications. The key here is that the employee maintains the benefits under the same conditions as those existing before the leave.

  • Example 1 - An employee regularly pays a portion of the insurance premium. That employee should continue to make such payments while on leave.
  • Example 2 - An employee does not pay his or her portion of premiums during leave. The employer should pay the premiums on the employee’s behalf and attempt to recoup payment upon the employee’s return.
  • Example 3 - An employee returns to work following the leave period. The employee is immediately entitled to reinstatement of insurance coverage.
  • Example 4 - The employee fails to return to work. The employer is entitled to recover premiums paid for maintaining coverage so long as the failure to return is not due to a serious health condition of the employee, or other circumstances beyond his or her control.

Although a covered employer’s FMLA obligations end when the employment relationship ends, the employer may still have obligations to maintain health benefits as required by the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA).

Employees also may not be excluded from perfect attendance bonuses, safety bonuses, or similar bonuses because they are on FMLA leave. Similarly, an employee on FMLA leave will remain entitled to any unconditional pay increases granted during the leave.

An employee, however, is not entitled to the accrual of any seniority or employment benefits during the period of leave.

Example - An employee’s bonus or pay increase is calculated based on work time or accrued earnings. The employee has not accrued such hours or earnings during the leave period. Therefore, an employer may pay the employee a lesser amount than other employees. However, any hours or earnings accrued at the time the leave began must be used toward calculating such bonuses or pay increases upon the employee’s return from FMLA leave.

Similarly, unpaid FMLA leave periods need not be treated as credited service for purposes of benefit accrual, vesting, or eligibility to participate in pension or other retirement plans.

Reinstatement after leave

Within a reasonable time after the employee is able to return from FMLA leave, the employer must restore the employee to his or her former job or to an “equivalent” position. An “equivalent” position is one that is virtually identical to the employee’s former position in terms of pay, benefits, working conditions, duties, skill, authority, privileges, and status. The position must be in the same or geographically similar worksite with an equivalent work schedule and shift.

If an employee is unable to perform an essential function of the position because of a physical or mental condition, the employee has no right to be restored to another position under the FMLA. In many circumstances, however, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) may dictate further obligations for the employer.

A employee has no greater entitlement to reinstatement or, as previously discussed, other benefits and conditions of employment, than if the employee had been continuously employed during the leave period.

Example - The employee’s position was eliminated in a nondiscriminatory reduction in force. The employee is not entitled to reinstatement just because he or she was on leave when the position was eliminated. However, the employer has the burden to prove that the employee would have been terminated if the employee had not taken FMLA leave in order to deny restoration to employment.

If the employee informs the employer that he or she does not intend to return to work, or the employee fails to return after exhausting FMLA benefits, the employer’s FMLA obligations end.

One exception to the FMLA’s reinstatement requirement permits employers to exclude employees who are among the highest paid 10% of all employees (both salaried and non-salaried) in the employer’s workforce within 75 miles of the facility where the employee works, from reinstatement. This exception, referred to in the regulations as the “key employee” exception, permits an employer to refuse reinstatement if all of the following requirements are met:

  • The employer informs the employee at the time the employee gives notice of the need for FMLA leave (or when FMLA leave commences, if earlier) that he or she qualifies as a “key employee” and advises the employee of the potential consequences of this status.
  • The employer subsequently determines that reinstatement (not the absence) would cause “substantial and grievous economic injury” to the employer’s operations.
  • The employer notifies the employee of its intent to deny reinstatement at this time.
  • Upon receiving a request to return to work, the employer confirms the determination and notifies the employee that reinstatement has been denied.

Notice requirements

Employee notice requirements

Where an eligible employee plans to take foreseeable leave in the case of expected birth, placement for adoption or foster care, or planned medical treatment for a serious health condition, the employee must provide at least 30 days notice of the employee’s intention to take leave before leave is to begin. If the employee fails to give 30 days notice for a foreseeable leave with no reasonable excuse for the delay, the employer may deny the taking of leave until at least 30 days after the employee provides notice, provided that the employee had actual notice of FMLA notice requirements.

If the employee intends to take leave in less than 30 days or otherwise changes the start date, the employee must provide notice “as soon as practicable,” which ordinarily may be satisfied by at least verbal notification to the employer, within one or two business days of when the need for leave becomes known to the employee. If an employee takes leave for planned medical treatment, the employee must make a reasonable effort to schedule the treatment in a manner that will not unduly disrupt the employer’s operations, subject to approval by a health care provider.

Where the employee takes unforeseeable leave, the employee must provide such notice as is practicable, or within two or three working days of learning of the need for leave, except in extraordinary circumstances where such notice is not feasible.

The employee need not specifically assert rights under the FMLA or even mention the FMLA, but may provide adequate notice by only stating that leave is needed for a potentially FMLA-qualifying reason. As soon as the employee informs the employer that an absence may potentially qualify under the FMLA, the employer has the burden to determine whether the leave is actually for an FMLA-qualifying reason. The employer may request medical certification to determine if the reason for the leave qualifies as a serious health condition.

An employer may require an employee to comply with the employer’s usual and customary notice and procedural requirements for requesting leave. However, if a collective bargaining agreement, state law, or an employer’s leave plan provides for lesser notice requirements, an employer cannot require compliance with the stricter FMLA requirements.

Employer's notice requirements

One of the most significant changes under the new FMLA regulations is the “notice requirements” an employer owes to its employees. In an effort to clarify an employer’s obligations, the regulations have divided the notice requirements into four separate categories.

General notice requirements

  • Poster - Covered employers are required to post notice of FMLA rights conspicuously and prominently (even if there are no eligible employees at a particular worksite). Electronic posting is sufficient to meet the posting requirement if all employees have access to a computer. If a significant portion (usually ten percent) of the workforce is not literate in English, the posting must also be in the language in which the employees are literate. Employers in violation of FMLA’s posting requirements may suffer civil penalties of up to $189 per violation and forfeit their rights to take adverse action against employees who fail to satisfy posting requirements for taking FMLA leave, including denying FMLA leave. Employers can obtain copies of the new mandatory FMLA poster that reflects the recent FMLA amendments through the U.S. Department of Labor website.
  • Policy - Covered employers who have any eligible employees must provide general notice of FMLA rights to each employee by including it in employee handbooks, or if there is no handbook, by distributing a copy of the general notice to each new employee upon hiring. Distribution of the FMLA policy can also be done electronically. Employers may duplicate the text of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) notice which may be obtained from the DOL or the local offices of the Illinois DOL.

Eligibility notice requirements

The eligibility notice is a notice that employers must give employees who request leave, informing them whether they meet the eligibility requirements of the FMLA. However, the notice does not inform the employee whether or not the reason for leave has been approved.

  • What should and should not be included - The notice would include things such as length of employment, number of employees within a 75-mile radius. The notice does not have to include things such as whether the employee’s condition is a serious health condition or whether the employee has a qualifying exigency.
  • Timing of eligibility notice - When an employee requests FMLA leave, or when the employer acquires knowledge that an employee’s leave may be for an FMLA-qualifying reason, the employer must notify the employee of the employee’s eligibility to take FMLA within five business days.
  • Content of eligibility notice - The eligibility notice must state whether the employee is eligible for FMLA leave. If the employee is not eligible for FMLA leave, the eligibility notice must state at least one reason why the employee is not eligible, including (as applicable) the number of months the employee has been employed by the employer or the number of hours of service the employee is employed at a worksite where 50 or more employees are employed by the employer within 75 miles of that worksite. While notification of eligibility may be oral or in writing, it is recommended that employers provide written notice in order to demonstrate that the notice was provided.

Rights and responsibilities notice requirements

The rights and responsibilities notice is a notice that provides employees who need FMLA leave with general information about their rights and responsibilities under the FMLA. An employee must be given a rights and responsibilities notice each time an eligibility notice is given. A rights and responsibilities notice must include all of the following information:

  • Leave may be designated and counted against the employee’s annual FMLA leave entitlement if qualifying, and the applicable 12-month period for FMLA entitlement.
  • Any requirements for the employee to furnish certification of a serious health condition, serious illness or injury, or qualifying exigency arising out of the active duty or call to active-duty status, and the consequences of failing to do so.
  • The employee’s right to substitute paid leave, whether the employer will require the substitution of paid leave, conditions related to any substitution, and the employee’s entitlement to unpaid FMLA leave if the employee does not meet conditions for paid leave.
  • Any requirement for an employee to make any premium payments to maintain health benefits and arrangements for making such payments, and the consequences of failure to make such payments on a timely basis.
  • Employee’s status as a key employee and the potential consequence that restoration may be denied following FMLA leave, explaining the conditions required for such denial.
  • Employee’s right to maintenance of benefits during the FMLA leave and restoration into the same or an equivalent job upon return from FMLA leave.
  • The employee’s potential liability for payment of health benefits paid by employer during employee’s unpaid FMLA leave if the employee fails to return to work after leave.

Designation notice requirements

The designation notice is a notice that the employer must give employees who have requested or need FMLA leave informing them whether that leave has been approved and will be counted as FMLA leave.

  • Timing - When the employer has enough information to determine whether the leave is being taken for a FMLA-qualifying reason, the employer must notify the employee whether the leave will be counted as FMLA leave within five business days.
  • Form and content of notice - The designation notice must be in writing and must notify the employee that the employer has determined that the leave does or does not qualify for FMLA.
    • Substitution of paid leave - If the employer requires paid leave to be substituted for unpaid FMLA leave, or that paid leave taken under the existing leave plan be counted as FMLA leave, the employer must inform the employee of this designation at the time of designating the FMLA leave.
    • Fitness-for-duty certification - If the employer will require the employee to present a fitness-for-duty certification to be restored to employment, the employer must provide notice of such requirement with the designation notice, and must include a list of essential job functions. If the employee handbook describing the leave policy clearly provides that a fitness-for-duty certification is required in specific circumstances, written notice is not required, but the employer must give oral notice no later than when the designation notice is given.
    • Amount of leave counted as FMLA - The employer must notify the employee as to the amount of leave counted against the employee’s FMLA leave entitlement.

Recordkeeping requirements

The FMLA imposes strict record‑keeping requirements. Covered employers must make, keep, and preserve records pertaining to their obligations under the FMLA in accordance with section 11(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and FMLA regulations. Employers must keep records for at least three years and make them available for inspection, copying, and transcription by the Department of Labor upon request. Employers must maintain records of the following information:

  • basic payroll and employee identification data
  • dates of FMLA leave
  • the hours of leave if FMLA leave is taken in increments of less than a day
  • copies of employee notices of leave and copies of general and specific notices given to employees
  • documents describing employee benefits and employer policies and practices regarding the taking of paid and unpaid leave
  • premium payments of employee benefits
  • records of disputes between the employee and employer regarding designation of FMLA leave.

Note: Information relating to medical certifications, re-certifications, or medical histories of employees or family members (created for the purpose of FMLA leave) must be maintained as confidential medical records in separate files from the usual personnel files.

Certifications

When an employee submits a request for FMLA leave related to a serious health condition, an employer may require the employee to submit a medical certification form, signed by a health care provider, indicating that the employee (or the employee’s family member) does in fact suffer from a serious health condition. Normally, an employer should make the request for written certification within two days of receiving notice of leave from the employee and can provide the employee with 15 days to respond to the request by certification, or as soon as reasonably possible due to the circumstances.

Once the employee has submitted a complete and sufficient medical certification, the employer cannot request additional information from the health care provider. However, the employer’s human resources department or leave administrator (not the employee’s supervisor) may contact the health care provider after the employee has been given the opportunity to cure any deficiencies in order to authenticate or clarify certification. If the employer has reason to doubt the validity of the certification, then it may require the employee to obtain a second or third opinion from another health care provider at the employer’s expense, provided that the health care provider is not employed by the employer on a regular basis. Upon request, employers must provide an employee with copies of second and third opinions within five business days.

Certification is generally sufficient if it states the date on which the serious health condition commenced, the probable duration of the condition, the appropriate medical facts within the knowledge of the health care provider regarding the condition, and a statement that the employee is unable to perform the functions of the employee’s position.

Employers may also require employees to submit a timely, complete, and sufficient certification to support a request for FMLA leave due to a qualifying exigency or for military caregiver leave due to a serious illness or injury. Sample forms are provided on the Department of Labor’s website:

Enforcement

The statute and regulations governing family and medical leave are enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor’s Employment Standards Administration. Most violations of the FMLA are the result of employer confusion in interpreting and implementing the act, as opposed to willful violations. Common violations committed by employers include the following:

  • failure to notify an employee of his or her FMLA rights
  • failure to notify an employee that leave counted towards the 12-week FMLA entitlement
  • failure to grant leave to provide care to a family member with a serious health condition
  • termination of an employee during or at the conclusion of FMLA leave.

An eligible employee may file a private civil action against an employer in state or federal court for FMLA violations. An employee must file such lawsuit within two years of the date of the alleged violation for ordinary damages, or within three years for willful violations. Unlike other civil rights statutes, an employee enforcing his or her rights under the FMLA is not required to file a complaint with the Wage and Hour Division prior to filing a civil lawsuit, although such an employee is entitled to do so.