FMLA

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5-4 opinion in the case Coleman v. Court of Appeals of Maryland.  The issue was whether a state could be sued for money damages for firing an employee for taking time off using the self-care provision of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA).  The FMLA allows an employee to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to recover from serious illnesses or medical conditions.  While states can be sued for money damages for violating the FMLA in terms of unpaid leave for employees who take time off to care for ill family members, in the case of self-care time off they cannot be as state sovereign immunity applies.  Instead the employee can sue for injunctive relief to get their job back.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/20/us-usa-court-medicalleave-idUSBRE82J0PC20120320

s/ Kurt Koehler
308 1/2 S. State Street Suite 36
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48198
(Washtenaw County)