Can A School District Deny A Teacher FMLA Whether He Or She Is Tenured Or Not?

Medical issues do not only happen during the summer. If you are a teacher, you may find that you need to take a leave of absence during the school year due to a serious medical condition. Can your school district deny you leave during the school year?

Under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"), teachers, like any other employee, are entitled to take twelve weeks of leave every twelve months for their own or a family member's serious medical condition. Of course, there are certain requirements you have to meet. You have to have been employed for at least twelve months and worked at least 1,250 hours in the preceding twelve months. Also, your employer must have at least fifty employes.

If you are employed by a Connecticut school district, you also have rights under the Connecticut FMLA. The requirements are a little less stringent, in that you only have to have been at work for three months and there is no size requirement for the employer.

What if you don't have tenure? Many teachers who do not have tenure believe that they are not entitled to take a leave under the FMLA. Your tenure status, however, doesn't matter. If you meet the other qualifications of the FMLA, you are entitled to take leave for yours or a family member's serious medical condition.

If you are covered by a collective bargaining agreement, you may have additional rights that have been bargained for between your union and your school district. Be sure to check your union contract.

If you are a teacher who has been denied FMLA, contact the employment lawyers at the Law Offices of Anthony J. Pantuso, III at 203-726-0284.