Supervisors are often the first point of contact with employees on medical leave. That’s why it’s important for them to be trained on the basics of the law — and to come to HR anytime there’s confusion.

In one recent case, an employee took FMLA to give birth. Originally, she was scheduled to take six weeks of leave, but she needed surgery that required another seven weeks off — putting her over the 12 weeks she was guaranteed under the law.

She called her supervisor and told him about the extra leave she needed, and he said that was fine.

However, he never told HR about the conversation. So when 12 weeks was up and the woman didn’t show, she was fired.

She sued, claiming she wasn’t aware she was out of leave — if she knew she’d have to come back earlier to save her job, she would have.

The court agreed. Since the manager basically added to the time the employee could take under FMLA, the company couldn’t fire her when she didn’t come back after 12 weeks.

Other cases like this have had similar outcomes. That’s why it’s key for managers to know the rights and responsibilities employees have under the law — and to get HR involved whenever necessary.

Cite: Cutting v. Ferrous Processing and Trading Co.

Tags: 12 weeks, FMLA, leave, manager