Contact: Steven B. Harz, Esq., Chairman
Labor & Employment Law Group
(201) 342-6000
NEW JERSEY APPELLATE COURT PUTS GREATER BURDEN ON
EMPLOYERS WHEN EMPLOYEES REQUEST FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (FMLA)
LEAVE
Dear Clients and Friends:
On March 29, 2004, the Appellate Division of the
New Jersey Superior Court issued a major decision regarding
employees requesting Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave. The
practical effect of the Court’s decision in Hutchens v. Board of
Review, Department of Labor, et al., among other things, requires an
employer to grant FMLA leave when the employee provides enough
information to alert the employer of the need for FMLA leave, even
when FMLA leave is not specifically requested by the employee.
Hutchens worked as a receptionist for Motion
Systems Corp. from August 3, 1999 to January 12, 2002. At the
hearing in the matter, Hutchens testified that she had requested
that the employer allow her time off to care for her ill parents.
She acknowledged, however, that she did not specifically request
leave from her job pursuant to the terms of the federal Family and
Medical Leave Act (FMLA), 29 U.S.C.A. § 2601 et seq., stating that
she was unaware of the federal statute at the time of her request.
The Court made clear that employees are not
required to possess “encyclopedic knowledge of their legal rights in
order to invoke the benefits of family leave,” but rather, the court
should focus on “the employer and its obligations.” The Appellate
Court held that if an employer requires more information to
determine whether FMLA leave is being requested or any other
ambiguity in the employee’s request for leave, the burden shifts to
the employer to determine if the leave requested is FMLA qualifying
leave by inquiring further. The employer’s duties are triggered
under FMLA when an employee provides information sufficient to put
the employer on notice of the need for FMLA leave. Once
circumstances indicate that an employee is entitled to FMLA leave,
the employer has an obligation to inquire further in order to
ascertain the specific details.
If you have any questions with regard to the
application of this case to your Company or with respect to any
other labor and employment law matter, please do not hesitate to
contact Steven B. Harz, Esq. at (201) 342-6000 or via e-mail at
sharz@hertenburstein.com.
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