U.S. Department of Labor Recovers $60,000 for Employee Denied Protected Medical Leave

The U.S. Department of Labor recently filed suit on behalf of a former employee after a Bradenton Beach restaurant forced them back to work the same day they were discharged from the hospital, despite doctor’s orders not to return to work for three days. The employee was terminated less than a week later.

Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that The Wicked Taco Inc., operating as Wicked Cantina, did not notify the worker of their rights to, and their ability to use protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act because of their medical situation.

Wage and Hour Division investigators found that after a brief hospitalization, the hospital released the worker on March 1, 2020, with instructions not to resume work duties until March 4, 2020. However, the day of their release from the hospital, the employee went to Wicked Cantina to give the general manager a copy of the doctor’s orders. The general manager never informed the worker that they could use FMLA-protected leave and did not provide notification of the employee’s FMLA rights or provide the required forms or notifications.

Then, on March 6, 2020, the restaurant’s general manager terminated the employee for allegedly being excessively tardy and allegedly spreading rumors among his coworkers about the management.

The department obtained a consent judgment on March 3, 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa. The consent judgment ordered the payment of back wages and damages by Wicked Taco and forbade the employer from any future FMLA violations.

Analyzing the case 

The employee had recently been released from the hospital when he returned to his employer to give them the doctor’s orders that required him to take three days off from work. Instead of informing the employee concerning his rights under the FMLA, the employer forced the worker back to work and then subsequently terminated the worker, ostensibly for missing time from work. This is unlawful under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Employers are required by law to allow employees time off from work when they have a valid doctor’s note stipulating that they cannot work for a set amount of time. This is because no worker should be forced to choose between following their doctor’s orders and being fired from their position of employment. That’s precisely what happened here. The worker was forced to choose between following his doctor’s recommendations and keeping his job at Wicked Cantina.

Talk to a Tampa, FL FMLA Lawyer Today 

Florin Gray represents the interests of Tampa residents who have had their rights violated by their employers regarding the Family and Medical Leave Act. Call our Tampa employment lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin discussing how you could recover damages related to back wages and other compensatory damages.

Source:

dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20230524