Work Injury

Family and Medical Leave Act and Work-related Injuries

The What’s and How’s on the FMLA

Work-related injuries are one of the grounds that make you eligible to avail of the entitlements under the Family and Medical Leave Act. The other two reasons would be taking care of your newly-born child, and taking care of a member of your family who is seriously ill. The FMLA includes a twelve-week unpaid leave, during which the employee’s medical benefits are all maintained.

Not all employees are eligible for the FMLA, however. You should be able to present hard evidence, backed-up with medical reports from your doctor, that you can’t work because of the injury you got while on duty. Keep in mind that though this leave is unpaid, you can still avail of the employee’s compensation in order to help with your bills.

Pro-employees and Pro-employers

One of the biggest benefits you can have from availing the FMLA is having the security that you will have a job to go back to after recuperating from your injury. It does not, however, guarantee you that you will have your original job back; your employer has to give you a job that offers the pay and benefits equivalent to your old job.

If, however, you fail to report back to work after the twelve-week leave, your employer has the option of firing you. Those twelve weeks also protect your lawyer from being sued for wrongful termination. So whether you are an employer or an employee, the Family and Medical Leave Act protects you when work-related injuries are incurred.