§2614 Employment and Benefits Protection

Summary

Employers must put an eligible employee who takes leave under section 2612 back into their old job or into a job that is the same in pay, benefits, and terms when the employee returns. Time on leave does not wipe out benefits the worker already earned, but employers do not have to give extra seniority or benefits that the worker would not have earned if they had stayed. For certain medical leave (section 2612(a)(1)(D)), an employer may require a routine rule that the employee bring a doctor’s note saying they can return to work, but that rule cannot override a valid state or local law or a union contract. Employers may also ask employees on leave to report on their status and plans to return. An employer may refuse to restore a very highly paid salaried worker if doing so would cause serious economic harm to the business. That rule applies only to salaried employees who are in the top 10 percent of pay among those working within 75 miles of the facility. The employer must notify the employee when it decides this, and the denial can apply only if the employee then chooses not to come back. While on leave, the employer must keep the employee’s group health insurance active at the same level. If an employee does not return after unpaid leave ends, the employer may recover the insurance premiums it paid unless the worker could not return because the serious health condition continued or because of other uncontrollable reasons. Employers may require timely medical certification from the appropriate health care provider to support an inability to return; the certification must say the employee could not work or was needed to care for the family member on the date the leave ended.