Human Resource Blog

Is this fair? FMLA in Georgia

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My wife went on maternity leave in December 2007. One week prior to returning, she received a call that her position was terminated and she was being moved to the Atlanta office. She lost her bonus, about $300 to $400 a month, and the office was 15 miles further away, which in Atlanta traffic equals about 1 hour each way. She tried the new position for 3 weeks but she was in the car for 3-4 hours a day and working for 8. It wasnt feasable. Is there anything we can do?
Thanks

Is it fair? Probably not. Is it legal? Like much else in the world of HR, the answer is “it depends.” Partly, it depends upon why your wife was offered a different job on her return from FMLA.

 

 

Suppose that nothing else has changed with the company. Your wife’s old job still exists, at the old location and salary, including bonus. The company has just chosen this opportunity to slide your wife out while she was on FMLA. Her job still exists, but it has been given to someone else. That would likely be illegal under FMLA regulations.

 

Now suppose that the company underwent a general reorganization one month before your wife returned from FMLA. Maybe the employer moved several employees and the new compensation structure doesn’t include bonuses. That would probably be legal under FMLA regulations.

 

By law, the employer can take any employment action against a worker on FMLA leave, that would have been taken, if the worker was not on FMLA leave. Under FMLA, an employee must be returned to their original job after leave. If that is impossible, the employee must be given a job with the same compensation, working conditions and benefits as the old job. It seems that the compensation (bonus) and working conditions (location) of the new job are not the same.

 

To get a final determination on your wife’s specific situation, she should contact the Wage & Hour Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor, which enforces the FMLA. If they find in your favor, your wife will likely be returned to her old position, possibly with back pay. The good news is that because your wife quit after the employer made significant changes in her terms of employment, she may qualify for unemployment benefits.