Legal Question in Employment Law in Ohio

Medical Leave - Return to Work

I am a salary employee and have been on medical leave for 6 weeks. I got released from my doctor with a restriction of 40 hrs/ weeks for 4 weeks. I contacted my employer to say I would be back - they asked about restrictions and then phoned me back the next day to state that I should stay off until I could come back without any restrictions. I am a manager of a department and have had employees come back with restrictions. How can others come back with restrictions but not me? Is there something I can do legally?


Asked on 7/20/07, 5:48 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Eileen Joyce Baughman & Joyce LLC

Re: Medical Leave - Return to Work

If the Family and Medical Leave Act (�FMLA�) applies (and it only does if: (1) your employer has at least 50 employees; and (2) you have been employed by the employer for at least 12 months and have worked at least 1250 hours during those 12 months) then your employer, by not permitting you to return with the 40 hour/week restriction, is in violation of the FMLA by (1) refusing a request for intermittent leave and (2) requiring you to take more leave than necessary. If the FMLA does not apply, it still may be violating your rights under federal and state disability laws. Whether or not your medical condition constitutes a disability, the employer�s refusal to permit you to return unless 100% means that it may be regarding you as disabled and discriminating against you on the basis of that perceived disability which, itself, is a violation of the disability laws.

The information contained herein is for informational purposes only; it is not to be construed as legal advice; and it is not intended to and does not create an attorney-client relationship.

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Answered on 7/23/07, 9:11 am


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