An employee wanted to take a leave of absence from work to care for her sick mother. As a result, her employer started a campaign of harassment and retaliation, which ended up in her termination. These allegations are in the woman’s lawsuit against RSC Equipment Rental, Inc., in New Orleans federal court.
In a report at louisianarecord.com, the plaintiff began working as a salesperson for RSC in 1996. In 2009, she went to Florida on the weekends to care for her mother, and that is when the harassment by RSC allegedly started. She claims her managers scheduled meetings when they knew she would be out of town and pressured her about her job performance.
It was only after a year of commuting to Florida that they informed of her rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). She says RSC approved her request for leave, but the harassment and retaliation continued until RSC terminated her in January 2011.
The FMLA is a federal law that gives employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year. During that time, the employer must maintain group health benefits for the employee on leave. The FMLA’s purpose is to allow employees, like the woman above, to take leave to care for family members, among other reasons.
Harrell & Nowak, L.L.C. – New Orleans injury lawyers