Violation of my rights under FMLA

On June 13 of this year, I returned to work from FMLA. Before I took FMLA, I trained another employee on my job. When I returned, my manager said she wanted to keep my co-worker in my former position. She said there were gaps in my director’s organization that I could fill. When I was on leave, my manager and her team moved under a new director who I only met twice before leave. There was one job opened under my director. It wasn’t a role that I really wanted but I told my manager I would take it. She asked if I was sure I wanted it and I said “Yes, because I don’t want to get laid off and I hear there are lay off’s coming.” My director said I could have the job and I started training for it immediately. For the past 4 weeks, I have been training for this position. I was to start this job full time on August 1. On August 2, I was laid off. I was told the layoffs were not performance based but business need based. I feel they violated my rights under FMLA. The person I trained in my old position was not laid off and my old job is still there. The employee who is working in the position I was training for was not laid off and that job is still there.
What are my rights?

Jennifer

2 answers  |  asked Aug 4, 2011 12:51 PM [EST]  |  applies to California

Answers (2)

Janet M. Koehn
There are many missing facts in your description.
What did you mean when you described your leave as "FMLA"?
Was it actually a pregnancy or childbirth leave?
Was it for your own health reason or a family member's?
Is yours a public employer?
Did you return before or right after your leave expired?
The answers to these and questions like it determine which law if any was violated, and especially, what your rights are on returning from leave. You should contact an attorney experienced in California employment law, like Arkady, for a consultation. You can find other attorneys in your area who are experienced in employment law at the website of the California Employment Lawyers Association, www.cela.org. You can search by city, county, or specialty.
good luck

posted by Janet M. Koehn  |  Aug 4, 2011 2:05 PM [EST]
Arkady Itkin
Hello.

The issue is whether your lay-off was legitimate or just an excuse to get rid of you, as you suspect and justifiable so, under the circumstances, you describe.

Some of the facts that would help to determine this are:
* How many people were laid off?
* Were you replaced by someone else who does exactly the same things you did?

Thanks, and feel free to follow up.

Arkady Itkin
San Jose Workplace Attorney
http://www.sanjoseworkplacelawyer.com

posted by Arkady Itkin  |  Aug 4, 2011 1:39 PM [EST]

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