RESPOND TO 2 CLASSMATES RESPONSES TO DISCUSSION QUESTION PROVIDE A REFERENCE TO SUPPORT YOUR STATEMENTS
Topic 1
Joe has had a difficult life. His parents separated when he was an infant. His mother began drinking heavily to deal with her depression and became alcoholic. Social Services intervened to remove Joe from his mother's care. Joe's grandmother took Joe in and raised him from infancy.
Joe is now employed for your company.
His grandmother needs a serious operation on her eyes and will require constant monitoring and help 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Joe asks for 6 weeks unpaid leave from his important job to provide care for his grandmother.
Your boss comes to you - "Are we legally obligated to grant Joe unpaid leave and guarantee him his job?"
1. Write a short memo to your boss explaining the company's obligations under the FMLA and answering his question. Offer your own opinion as to whether Joe should be granted unpaid leave,
Sheree Bolding posted
TO: The Boss
FROM: Sheree Bolding
DATE: September 12, 2017
RE: Family Medical Leave Act
Employees requesting to take an extended leave of absence to care for a family member may have their jobs protected under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The FMLA "entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave" (Family and Medical Leave Act, n.d.). The act defines family as parents, children, and spouses, but excludes what most consider family, aunts, uncles, grandparents, in-laws, etc. Eligible employees include:
- Anyone that works for a "covered employer"
- Has been employed with the employer for 12 months (does not have to be consecutive)
- Works at a locations where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles
Covered employers include:
- Private sector employer with 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks
- Any public agency (local, state, or federal government agency) regardless of the number of employees
- Public or private elementary or secondary school, regardless of the number of employees
Eligible employees make take up to 12 workweeks in a 12 month period for any of the following reasons:
- Birth or adoption of a child/children or foster care placement
- To care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition
- The employee has a serious health condition that makes them unable to perform their job functions
The employee may take the 12 workweeks of unpaid leave on an intermittent basis.
Assuming the company is a covered employer, Joe's job is protected under the FMLA. This is because Joe was placed in his grandmother's care by Social Services when he was an infant. This means that his grandmother was his guardian/foster parent. According to the U.S. Department of Labor's The Employee's Guide to the Family Medical Leave Act, a parent is defined as "a biological, adoptive, step or foster father or mother, or any other individual who stood in loco parentis to the employee when the employee was a child. This term does not include parents-in-law."
In my opinion, the FMLA should be extended to other family members such as grandparents. Although, Joe is covered under the FMLA, it is only on a technicality. If he was never legally placed with this grandmother as a child, he would not be eligible for unpaid leave.
Topic 1
Joe has had a difficult life. His parents separated when he was an infant. His mother began drinking heavily to deal with her depression and became alcoholic. Social Services intervened to remove Joe from his mother's care. Joe's grandmother took Joe in and raised him from infancy.
Joe is now employed for your company.
His grandmother needs a serious operation on her eyes and will require constant monitoring and help 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Joe asks for 6 weeks unpaid leave from his important job to provide care for his grandmother.
Your boss comes to you - "Are we legally obligated to grant Joe unpaid leave and guarantee him his job?"
1. Write a short memo to your boss explaining the company's obligations under the FMLA and answering his question. Offer your own opinion as to whether Joe should be granted unpaid leave,
Samuel Smoot posted
MEMORANDUM
TO: Boss
FROM: Samuel Smoot
DATE: September 12, 2017
SUBJECT: The legal obligation to grant Joe unpaid leave and guarantee him his job
I am writing to express my opinion on the decision on whether we are legally obligated to grant Joe unpaid leave and guarantee him his job. My decision is informed by a thorough review of all the relevant laws and materials. I went through the FMLA eligibility condition to determine if Joe is eligible
Having conducted my investigation, we have a legal obligation to grant Joe unpaid leave and guarantee him his job. Joe is really in a difficult situation that needs to be addressed. His grandmother needs a serious operation on her eyes and will require constant monitoring and help 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) an employee may take up to 12 workweeks of leave in a 12-month to care for a spouse, son, daughter, or parent who has a serious health condition.
In my opinion, Joe's grandmother took Joe in and raised him from infancy and this means she plays the role of a parent. For this reason, Joe qualifies for leave entitlement under the Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
I look forward to hearing any recommendations from you on Joe's issue.
Yours faithfully,