Human Resource Blog

When Do FMLA Rules Apply? Arizona

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My daughter works for [name of a major insurance company deleted] in Mesa AZ. She was just hired permanent after working there through a temp agency, so she is on a 90 day probation period. Her daughter who is 3 years old and has asthma became ill and had to be taken to the doctor, and be cared for, and she had to take 3 days off of work to do this. As a result she was written up by her supervisor and told if it happened again it is grounds for termination and that no reason or excuse will be accepted no matter what it is. I thought that was what FMLA was for, so a person could take care of there kids when they are sick without fear of losing your job. When your kids are sick and can’t breath and you are told if you take off to care for them you will lose your job what are you supposed to do? Thanks for any help or answers, sincerely, Mark W

This situation might very well be covered under FMLA, if the employee had been with the company for at least one year. Normally an employee must work for an employer at least 12 months, before the employee is eligible for FMLA. In addition, the employee must have worked at least 1,250 hours during those 12 months.

Under FMLA, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, employees are entitled to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period. The law applies to employers who have 50 or more workers within 75 miles.

FMLA leave may be used when an employee has a serious health condition. Or, when a member of the employee’s immediate family has a serious health condition. The regulations define “immediate family”  for FMLA purposes as a spouse, son or daughter, or parent.

Employees can also take FMLA leave to bond with a new child. This includes a newborn or newly adopted child, or a newly place foster child under the age of 18.

In this case, the employee has been working for the insurance company less than 90 days. That’s too short a time to qualify for FMLA.

Even though the employee previously worked for a temp agency at the same location, the employer at that time was the temporary agency, not the insurance company.

Try to look at the situation from the employer’s point of view for a moment. Employees are usually on their best behavior during the first 90 days of employment. Those who miss work during that period often develop worse attendance problems later. Most employers would try to nip this in the bud.

Suppose this worker has been employed for 60 days and missed work 3 days. If that trend continues, it would equal 18 missed workdays per year. Most employers permit workers to miss just 5 to 10 days per year, before they are disciplined.  

A few states have laws that permit workers to use any sick paid time, to care for a child or other family member who is ill. California has such a law. But this employee probably hasn’t accumulated any sick time yet.

A few states have family leave laws that permit employees to take more time off, as in Maine.

Arizona does not have such family leave laws.