Paper Example on Family and Medical Leave Discrimination

Introduction

There are several forms of discrimination in diverse perspectives. These come as a result of disagreements between two or more parties. One of the discriminations that will be discussed is based on the family and medical leave. Family and medical leave is a policy that was implemented with the favor of employees (Cantor, et al., 2001). It states that all the workers should take leave from their jobs to attend their serious problems that involve health and family. Under this policy, Employees are eligible to take any leave in case of a medical emergency or any health issue with the family.

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According to Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), employees are only given specific duration to attend their health and family issues without getting paid (LEAVE, S. F. Family and Medical Leave Act). Moreover, an employee can be eligible for FMLA if he or she had not gone for leave for a long time. Therefore, the FMLA laws protect the rights of employees and also consider job security (Lenhoff & Withers, 1994). In other words, employees can be given FMLA when necessary and upon providing enough reason to go for a leave.

However, there are several forms of discriminations of FMLA. One of them is denying an eligible employee his or her right to be given FMLA. This comes as a result of misunderstandings between employee and an employer. Another FMLA discrimination is using the FMLA request for an employee against them. For instance, an employer can discriminate a worker by telling him or her that if he goes for a leave, then the chances of getting promoted or paid will be low. That is when an employer will choose to stay even though he or she is an eligible employer. Moreover, manipulating the employee's working hours with the aim of denying him or her FML is another discrimination.

Conclusion

Therefore, preventing discriminations based on taking family and medical leave will regard the implementation of policies that protect the rights of employees (Suriyasak & Kleiner, 2003). Also, the government should take action to the employers who deny FMLA to the eligible employees. This will reduce discriminations. Another way of preventing family and medical leave discrimination is that employees must report an employer who takes advantage of the workers by using FMLA against them.

References

Cantor, D., Waldfogel, J., Kerwin, J., Wright, M. M., Levin, K., Rauch, J., ... & Kudela, M. S. (2001). Balancing the needs of families and employers: Family and medical leave surveys. Report submitted to the US Department of Labor. Washington, DC: Westat.

LEAVE, S. F. Family and Medical Leave Act. Issue Brief, Congrssional Research Service, The.

Suriyasak, T., & Kleiner, B. H. (2003). How to prevent discrimination based on taking family and medical leave. Equal opportunities international, 22(3), 49-57.

Lenhoff, D., & Withers, C. (1994). Implementation of the family and medical leave act: Toward the family-friendly workplace. Am. UJ Gender & L., 3, 39.