Faulty communications over just how much unpaid Family and Medical Leave Act leave, and how much paid maternity leave, an employee was entitled to have landed her employer in court.

HR Dive reports that information in the employer’s handbook on the issue of leave had two separate sections: one discussed employees’ entitlements to 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave, while the other offered workers eight weeks of paid maternity leave, with the option to take four more weeks unpaid.

The employee, according to the report, submitted a formal request for time off via e-mail. Titling the e-mail “Maternity leave,” she asked to use accrued vacation first, followed by the maternity leave specified in the handbook.

She said in her lawsuit that she believed that the leaves would run consecutively; however, she was fired when she did not return to work after 12 weeks.

The HR manager in the case said that according to her experience at previous jobs, the leaves were to run concurrently, while her boss, who is a vice president, understood that they would run consecutively.

A federal district court judge has refused to dismiss the employee’s lawsuit, and has instead determined that a jury should hear how she was fired after confusion about how much leave she actually had available (Rengan v. FX Direct Dealer, LLC, No. 1:15-cv-04137 (S.D.N.Y)). The report says, “It is undisputed that the employer approved the leave and never provided FMLA eligibility and designation notices.”

And although there are allegations that the employee was told verbally she’d have to return after 12 weeks, there are also “allegations that she repeatedly emailed and called the employer to clarify the situation and request more time off, but never heard back.”

The report suggests, “Businesses are free to include a note in their handbooks that any employer-provided leaves will run concurrently with FMLA, if eligible. Many employers exercise this option as it cuts down on the time employees can be out of work each year.”

Instant Insights /

Employer in court over FMLA, maternity leave misunderstanding

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