Can you be furloughed if you are on fmla like me?Of 4 managers in my department, I was the only one furloughed.

Question

I am on approved intermittent fmla from my company ( a large publicly traded one) to take care of my elderly mother. I would come in to work about 2 hrs later than regular start time daily to care for my 94 yr old mom before her caregiver arrived. We had been working from home for 2 weeks due to COVID when I received a call from my bosses that I had been furloughed. I was one of 2 employees from my direct group placed on furlough and the only manager of the entire finance team. (In my direct group are 4 mgrs, and I was the only mgr furloughed in not just my direct group, but the entire accounting team - all others furloughed is either a staff accountant or lower-level). I am also over 60, female, and African-American.

Jay P. Lechner · Answer

You can be furloughed if you are on FMLA leave, but you cannot be furloughed because you are on FMLA leave. There are a number of other potential issues raised by your message too complex to be addressed in an on-line response. Contact an employment attorney.

Bruce Alexander Minnick · Answer

If you feel you have been discriminated against by actions of your supervisors or co-workers at your workplace because of your race, age, gender (including sexual harassment), sexual orientation or national origin, religion or marital status or because you have a disability, or feel you have been retaliated against for speaking out or asserting your legal rights in the workplace, you should contact the Florida Commission on Human Relations (FCHR) here in Tallahassee. The FCHR's toll free telephone number is (800) 342 8170; or you can call them at (850) 488 7082. If you do call, ask to speak with an Intake Counselor. You do not need a lawyer; but retaining one before you file a charge of discrimination will help get through the bureaucracy.

Alberto Naranjo · Answer

This can be a violation based on the facts provided but it will depend on why the picked you and not the others, if it is due to the FMLA, that would be a violation of the law. Getting an attorney involved early on will increase your chances of a better outcome and you can review all the facts to really make a determination if you have a case.  
 
The DOL handles issues with FMLA and maybe you also have a discrimination case but not sure based on the facts provided but whatever you submit to the government can limit an attorney later on and the majority of these cases you will need to get an attorney as the government only helps with a very small percentage of cases, sometimes below 5%. I would file for unemployment, gather all your documents and speak to an attorney.

Q: Can you be furloughed if you are on fmla like me?Of 4 managers in my department, I was the only one furloughed.