The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Essay

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 was developed to provide a set of guidelines as to the obligations of the employer and the rights of the employee when time off work is needed; such as with maternity or parental leave, a sick member of the family, a death in the family etc.

Thus, the Act functions as a boundary between worker and employer responsibilities to themselves, each other and the wider community. The document and its guidelines can be referred to when a decision needs to be made about time off work/leave time, especially when the circumstances are ambiguous. However, it appears from the literature that many physicians and other health management personnel remain unaware of their rights within the workplace with regards to leave, health needs, compensation or termination of employment. For this reason it is critical that undergraduate physicians and other health management service workers seek to educate themselves about ethical and legal obligations for themselves and their employer.

Contemporary health service delivery requires multi-disciplined teams tailored to the particular characteristics of the client. Cross discipline integrating and pooling of resources has lead to an overlapping of social, healthcare and administration skills. Also, there is greater awareness of the needs of bonding for families, of which each team member is a part of in some way. Workplace satisfaction, engagement with the critical needs of patients/clients and positive outcomes for the physician, their employer and wider society requires that employee needs and expectations from their employer be clearly delineated.

The FLMA states that an employer is to grant an eligible employee up to 12 weeks (3 months) of unpaid leave within a 12-month period. Eligibility is determined by the reason for leave; for example, birth and child care; adoption/foster care placement; to car for an immediate family member; serious health condition. An amendment on January 16, 2009, known as the final rule, gives military family leave entitlements, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, 2008. Hence, military health management workers will have additional job-protected leave rights for serious injury or call to active duty.

The Acts appear clear cut; however a few court hearings have shown this not to be the case and have opened the area of contention open for discussion. An important distinction was made between worker’s compensation and the FLMA by a federal Court of Appeals in Chicago. An employer is not obligated to pay an employee with a medical condition who chooses light duties as part of their compo or salary plans. In Hendricks v. Compass Group, USA, Inc., No. 06-3637 (7th Cir., August 6, 2007) it was emphasized by the judge that the FLMA is unpaid leave. It was recognized that the FLMA is complex and overlaps with worker’s compensation programs. Though unpaid the employee is able to receive compensation whilst on unpaid FLMA by using their sick days, vacation time and other accrued leave. Alternative compensation programs allow the employee to choose light duties instead of FLMA.

The Judge also noted that the employer is required by FLMA to restore an employee their prior position or “an equivalent position with equivalent employment benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment” when the 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave run out. However, this right is lost if they are unable to perform the functions of the prior position.

Such issues also call into question at-will employment termination by employers, as this does not shield the employer from litigation by a former employee (Dannin, 2007). Having no reason to fire a person is not logical, and given the wide range of circumstances in which an at-will termination may take place leaves responsibility for policing the policy up to businesses, which is not time or cost efficient (Moynihan, 2005). LoPresti based his decision to stop referring patients to certain specialists on his ethical duties as a physician, as set forth in the American Medical Association’s Principles of Ethics, Rutland’s internal Code of Ethics, and Vermont state law (Moynihan, 2005). He won, with the Court determining that ethical standards must be specific to the context. The decision made was to provide guidelines that plaintiffs were expected to meet;

  1. When the employer instructs the employee to act unethically
  2. An unethical act transgresses public policy
  3. Termination transgresses public policy because the employee refuses to act unethically
  4. Refusal by the employee is grounded in a belief that to act in such a way should e unethical.

References

Dannin, E. (2007). Why at-will employment is bad for employers and just cause is good for them. Labor Law Journal, 58(1).

Employment Law Information Network (2003). FMLA. Web.

Moynihan, K. (2005). Physician Employment: At-Will Employment Contract Does Not Insulate Employer from Claim Based on Violation of State Public Policy-LoPresti v. Rutland Reg’l Health Servs., Inc.1. American Journal of Law and Medicine, 31(1), 135-137.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2022, March 1). The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-family-medical-leave-act-fmla/

Work Cited

"The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)." IvyPanda, 1 Mar. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/the-family-medical-leave-act-fmla/.

References

IvyPanda. (2022) 'The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)'. 1 March.

References

IvyPanda. 2022. "The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)." March 1, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-family-medical-leave-act-fmla/.

1. IvyPanda. "The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)." March 1, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-family-medical-leave-act-fmla/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)." March 1, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-family-medical-leave-act-fmla/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1