Labor and Employment Law Family and Medical Leave Act - 1100 Words

Labor and Employment Law: Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (Essay Sample) Content: Name:Tutor:Subject:Date:Labor and Employment LawThe Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) was passed with the aim to help find a balance between the family needs of Americans and the demands of the workplace. The act addresses conflicts that arise due to lack of policies that accommodate working parents. These conflicts often compel such parents to make a tough choice between job security and parenting.This act provides that eligible employees will be entitled to 12 workweeks of leave during a 12 month period to attend to a number of family issues. Employees may be granted this leave to attend to the birth of a baby or care of a newborn, valid only within one year of birth (Scharlach and Grosswald 337). Also, they may be granted this leave with one year of the placement of a child in their care for foster care or adoption. Other circumstances which make them eligible for such a leave are if the employeeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s parent, spouse or child has a serious medical condition or if the employee has a medical condition that precludes them from performing their duties at work. The leave in this case is unpaid but job protected.The act also provides for 26 workweeks of leave to care for an injured service member if the injured is the employeeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s spouse. The act also provides that those who go for such leaves are still entitled to group health insurance coverage the same way as if they had not taken leave.The employee in situation A requested for an 11 week leave to care for his wife who had delivered twins. The employee is clearly eligible for the leave as provided for by the FMLA. He is also clearly within the time limit of 12 weeks. Therefore, his job is protected under the leave and he should be able to be restored to his former position upon his return.The conflict in situation A arises from the employeeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s claim to withheld salary for the 11 weeks he was on leave. The manager has agreed to instill him back to his previous job, but has denied his request to pay him for the 11 weeks he was on leave. No violation has occurred in this situation. The FMLA provides only for unpaid leave. Therefore, the employee is not entitled to the 11 week pay for the time he was away from work.Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)The ADEA was crafted to deal with discrimination against members of the workforce 40 years and older on the basis of their age. ADEA makes it unlawful to discriminate against an individual on the basis of their age with regards to terms, conditions, remuneration and other privileges of employment (Wilson 17). It also makes it unlawful to segregate individuals in a way that may limit their employment opportunities due to their age and to cause an employer to violate this law.The ADEA also makes it unlawful to make job advertisements that contain age preferences. This prohibits employers, and even employment agencies from making such advertiseme nts. A third provision of this Act is that it grants the court jurisdiction to grant legal and equitable relief in the event that this act is violated.Situation B is a typical situation which applies to ADEA. Here is a case of an employee who has been in the company for 40 years and has been rated as above average, but misses out on a chance for promotion because he is 67 years old. Another employee who is 32 years old in the same company lands the promotion in spite of having a lower performance rating than the older employee.Situation B clearly depicts a violation of the ADEA. Section 4 (a)(1) of the act prohibits the discrimination against any individual with regard to terms, conditions and other honors and privileges of employment on the basis of age. Discrimination of the employee in situation B with regards to promotion as a privilege of employment amounts to a violation of the act. Therefore, indeed a violation has occurred because the younger person has been selected for the promotion at the expense of the older person even though the older person has been rated to offer better performance than the younger colleague.Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)The ADA was passed in order to stem discrimination against people with disabilities in matters employment, public service, accommodation and telecommunication. The act addresses all these areas in great detail.This act has several provisions pertaining to employment of persons with disability. It provides that employers should not discriminate persons with disability in regard to application, hiring, compensation, advancement, discharge, training and other terms and conditions that come with employment (Morin 189). The act also provides that persons with disability shall not be discriminated against with regards to medical examinations and inquiries. Employers are prohibited under the act from making inquiries as to whether job applicants are persons with disability or to the exte...