Los Angeles Employment Lawyer Blog

In a recent Los Angeles case, a courier was wrongfully fired for taking time off to care for his sick family and received compensatory damages from his former employer under the protection of the Family and Medical Leave Act. The courier, called into work late one day to say that his wife had been hospitalized and that he and his young child were sick. His boss said he was calling “too late” and used “profanity” against the courier. He covered the shift, but the next day, when the courier called again to say he still could not make it to work, the employer immediately went to human resources to see how to fire him. When the human resources department learned that the reason Darjee, the courier, could not make it into work was due to his wife’s premature delivery of their baby and his and his child’s own sickness, she consulted with the employer regarding the federal law—the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. Under this law, if you meet the qualifications you are entitled to take time off to care for your family.

However, company policy at that time did not allow Darjee to take the Family Medical Leave because he had only been with the current company for 10 months, two months shy of the minimum amount of time needed. However, he had worked for much longer under a subsidiary of the company that was bought within the 12 month period. The jury found and the court upheld that the employer had to count these earlier months as part of his employment time with the company according to the federal law.

Ultimately, the jury awarded $150,000 in compensatory damages to Darjee. They emphasized that once the employer learned of the Family and Medical Leave situation, and that Darjee was still providing reasonable notice as to his absences, that his firing was retaliatory and wrong. Additionally, he should have been offered to take the Family and Medical Leave time that he needed to be with his wife during her recovery. If you or someone you know has received similar treatment and you believe you were wrongfully terminated or that you did not receive the appropriate request for Family and Medical Leave in the State of California, please call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 for a free consultation regarding your legal rights and how the law may be able to help you.