Family & Medical Leave

Murray Law welcomes the opportunity to provide experienced and dedicated counsel and representation to employees and employers concerning family and medical leave.

Federal and Colorado Law

Federal and Colorado laws provide employees the right to receive family and medical leave.

The Family and Medical Leave Act [FMLA] is a federal law providing employees with unpaid leave for specified medical and family concerns. The FMLA applies to employers with 50 or more employees.

The FMLA provides employees with the right to take unpaid leave for one or more of these reasons:

• A serious medical condition causing the employee to be unable to perform the essential functions of the person’s job.
• To care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious medical condition, including a serious condition because of pregnancy, and for prenatal medical care.
• The birth of a child and leave to care for the child.
• The placement with the employee of a child through adoption or foster care and leave to care for the child.

The FMLA requires employers to return employees to the same job or an equivalent job when an employee’s period of FMLA leave ends.

The FMLA requires employers to retain employees on group health coverage for the period of leave. After that, the employee has the same health benefits the person would have received if the employee had not taken leave.

Under the Family and Medical Leave Act, an employer may not retaliate against an individual who has requested or received family and medical leave or engaged in any protected activity under the Act.

The FMLA prohibits an employer from interfering with, restraining, or denying the exercise of any right under the FMLA.

Employers and individuals working in the interest of employers may be liable for violations of the FMLA.

The Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act requires Colorado employers to provide three types of paid leave to their employees: 1) paid sick leave, 2) public health emergency-related paid leave, and 3) COVID-19- related paid leave.

The paid sick leave requirements of the Act take effect January 2, 2021, for employers with 16 or more employees, and January 1, 2022, for all employers.

COVID-19 Pandemic: Medical and Family Leave

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act is a federal law passed to provide leave to employees during the Covid-19 pandemic. The law applies to specific employers and requires that certain employees may receive paid sick and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19.

In the COVID-19 pandemic, the Governor of Colorado issued numerous Executive Orders, and the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment issued several Public Health Orders.

Conclusion

Murray Law welcomes the opportunity to provide counsel and representation to employees and employers about family and medical leave issues. Please contact Steven Murray at 720-600-6642.