An Arkansas restaurant finds itself owing $11,706 in back wages to a former employee who was terminated after returning from family and medical leave. Mi Casita Mexican Restaurant Inc., operating as El Lorito, based in Fort Smith, did not offer the worker the same or equivalent position after she returned from using the Family and Medical Leave Act. Although the employer did offer the worker a position at another location in another town several miles away, the worker refused to report to the restaurant, so the restaurant fired her. Here’s what other employers should know about the FMLA and how it’s enforced.
El Lorito to pay lost wages and tips to terminated worker
The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division determined that the operator of the restaurants violated the FMLA, which protects a worker’s job for qualified medical or family leave. The leave is unpaid, but the worker has the right to return to their job following the leave.
Wage and Hour District Director Hanz Grünauer in Little Rock, Arkansas said, “an employer’s compliance with the Family and Medical Leave Act is never optional.” El Lorito will pay $11,706 to the employee for the loss of 5 months of wages and tips that was lost while the worker tried to obtain another job. In addition, the restaurant will pay $204 in civil money penalties for violating federal law.
Know the law to protect your business
Employees should be allowed to exert their right to use the FMLA and other federal laws to take leave without having to fear losing their job. The FMLA was signed into law in February 1993, more than 30 years ago.
Employers should take note of the law, because the FMLA has many specifications about who is eligible and who isn’t. For example, to use FMLA, workers must have worked 1,250 in the previous 12 months. Businesses with less than 50 workers may not need to comply with the FMLA, but many states have enacted provisions that apply to smaller businesses. It’s important for all businesses to understand how FMLA applies to their workers.
Dawn Brotherton is a Sr. Staff Writer at The American Genius with an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Central Oklahoma. She is an experienced business writer with over 10 years of experience in SEO and content creation. Since 2017, she has earned $60K+ in grant writing for a local community center, which assists disadvantaged adults in the area.
