Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate my grasp of the learning objectives

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 is an act that was passed during President Bill Clinton administration. The bill was signed into law on February 5, 1993 and took effect August 5, 1993. The law was created for the purpose of protecting employee jobs in the event that they have a family emergency that requires the employee to be away from their job for an extended period of time. The Act was also created to offer a work-life balance to employees. It allows the employee to balance the responsibilities that they have at work as well as with their families. This more so became an issue because the traditional landscape of the workforce began to changed. Where years ago, the norm was a two-parent one-income family this is no longer the case. Young mothers, single parents, and two–income families has now become the norm for the current workforce.
With the aging of the “Baby Boomers”, the burdens of their living and in some case death expenses are carried by their children. Many individuals in the workforce serve as caregivers for their elderly parents. Also, as it relates to single parent families, they have to deal with the pressures of taking care of all the responsibilities that was traditionally done by two individuals. Single parent families have to deal taking care of sick children, pregnancy, and other events that may require time away from work. These employees are at a higher risk of losing their jobs when they needed to remain at home during the workday when their children became sick or when they need to tend to a sick parent. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 was created to provide more security to employees who found themselves in these predicaments.
FMLA allows an employee to take unpaid leave of up to twelve weeks for the following reasons: * Birth and care of the employee's child, or placement for adoption or foster care of a child with the employee; * Care of an immediate family member (spouse, child, parent) who has a serious health condition; or * Care of the employee's own serious health condition.

Based on the above criteria, it wouldn’t matters that a parent literally had nothing to do with the biological child in order for the child to take advantage of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to care for that parent. As long as the individual is an immediate family member, who in this case, Tony estranged father is, he would be eligible to take FMLA to care for his ill father. The relationship that exists between Tony and his father is one of a personal nature and by law should not have any bearing on whether or not Tony qualifies for FMLA. In order for an employee to take advantage of the FML benefit, they need to follow certain steps to lighten the impact on the businesses as much as possible. It would be ideal for employees to provide a thirty day advance notice of taking leave if the event is foreseeable. Unfortunately, this may not always happen and an unexpected medical emergency may arise. The employee may take FMLA leave without prior notice, but must give the employer as much notice as humanly possible. Depending on the company, the employee may have to provide all or any of the following: * Medical certification supporting the need for leave. * Second or third medical opinions which would be paid at the employer's expense. * Periodic recertification of health status. * Periodic reports on employee status and intentions regarding returning to work.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) applies to “any employer in the private sector who has fifty or more employees each working day during at least twenty calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year (About.com, 2011).” The FMLA Act also covers public and private schools as well as state and local government. It should be noted that these groups of employees do not have to meet the fifty employee criteria for the FMLA Act to apply. With this being said, the size of a business does effects a company’s FMLA coverage status and eligibility. In some instances, if a company that an employee works for do not have fifty working employees each working day during a twenty calendar week period they may still be eligible for FMLA status.
The Act states that if a company does meet the employee count requirement, an employee is only eligible if he or she works at or within seventy five miles of an FMLA-eligible work site (Department of Labor, 2011). In this case study, Tony would be eligible to utilize the FMLA benefit. Tony is eligible within a twelve month period to take a combined total of twenty-six work weeks of leave under the Act (Cornell University of Law, 2011).
In the video, Tony’s supervisor communicated to him that if he takes the 3 weeks off that he requested to take care of his father, he may not have a job when he comes back. This statement by the supervisor is a direct violation of the Act. The Family and Medical Leave Act was specifically implemented to combat such actions by employers and to protect the employees. According to the Act, an employee is entitled to return back to the same or an equivalent job that they were in before leaving on Family and Medical Leave. It is mandated by the Act that the employer must reinstate the employee to employment in the position that they were in before taking the leave. If the same position that the employee was in before leaving is no longer vacant when they return, then the employer must find an alternate position that has the same pay, and benefits as their previous position.
It should be noted as well that under the FMLA law, employees has the right to file a complaint with the Wage and Hour Division (WHD), file a private lawsuit, testify, or cooperate in any way with an investigation without being fired or discriminated against. Again, it is unlawful for any employer to interfere with the rights provided under this Act. It is unethical for a company to use taking FMLA leave as a vehicle to influence decisions such as hiring or promotions. It is also unethical and unlawful for this to be used as grounds for termination for an employee.
The Family and Medical Leave Act clearly defines who is eligible (both employee and employer), when it can be utilized, and the procedures and notifications that should be acted upon. The Act leaves no room for employers to make determinations on who is eligible. Everything is clearly defined within the Act. The extent to the employer’s authority when it comes to the determination of the FMLA benefits who be the legitimacy of the claim that is being made by the employee. It should be noted, that even in these cases, the employer can not resort to such tactics such as threats and fear to get information from them and/or influence on not taking the request Family and Medical leave that they requested.

Reference:

U.S. Department of Labor. (2011). Wage and Hour Division (WHD) - Family and Medical Leave Act. Retrieved October 27, 2011, from www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/

About.com. (2011) What is FMLA - What is the Family Medical Leave Act - FMLA Employment Law. Retrieved October 28, 2011, from www.biztaxlaw.about.com/od/employeelawandtaxes/a/fammedleaveact.htm

Cornell Uniiversity of Law. (2011) United States Code: Title 29,2612. Leave requirement | LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved October 30, 2011, from www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/29/usc_sec_29_00002612----000-.html