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FMLA Attorney Michigan: Protecting Your Job and Your Family
Denied FMLA leave or punished for taking it? Scott Batey is a Michigan FMLA attorney who helps employees hold employers accountable. Free consultation.
Somewhere in Michigan right now, an employee is sitting at home recovering from surgery, wondering if their job will still be there when they're cleared to return. Another is caring for a newborn, torn between bonding with their child and worrying about what's happening back at the office. A third just got off the phone with a doctor about a parent's cancer diagnosis, and now has to figure out how to tell HR without it costing them everything they've built at work.
Family and Medical Leave exists so people don't have to choose between their job and the people who need them. But too often, Michigan employees discover the protection isn't as solid as they thought. They come back from leave to a demotion. They get written up for the first time in years, right after returning. They ask for leave and get a strange runaround instead of a straight answer.
If any of that sounds familiar, you're not imagining it. Scott Batey has spent his career listening to Michigan employees describe exactly this kind of treatment, and he knows how to tell the difference between an employer that made an honest mistake and one that broke the law.
What FMLA Actually Guarantees Michigan Employees
The Family and Medical Leave Act is a federal law. It gives eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job protected leave each year for specific family and medical reasons. Job protected means your employer has to hold your position, or an equivalent one, until you're ready to return.
It's unpaid leave, which surprises a lot of people. FMLA doesn't guarantee a paycheck while you're out. What it guarantees is that you won't lose your job, your health insurance, or your seniority just because you needed time away.
Who qualifies, and who doesn't
Not every employee in Michigan is covered by FMLA, and not every employer has to comply. Eligibility depends on a few specific factors:
- Your employer must have 50 or more employees within 75 miles of your worksite
- You must have worked for that employer for at least 12 months
- You must have worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12 months before your leave
That last requirement trips people up more than any other. Someone who took a leave of absence earlier in the year, or who works part time, may not realize they've fallen short of the hours threshold. If you're not sure whether you qualify, that's exactly the kind of question worth asking before you assume you're protected, or assume you're not.
Qualifying reasons for leave
FMLA doesn't cover every reason someone might need time off. The qualifying reasons include:
- The birth of a child, or placement of a child for adoption or foster care
- A serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform their job
- Caring for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition
- Certain needs arising from a family member's military deployment
"Serious health condition" is a legal term with its own definition, and it covers more situations than people expect. It generally means an illness, injury, or condition that involves inpatient care or ongoing treatment by a health care provider.
Where Michigan Employers Cross the Line
FMLA interference
Interference happens when an employer denies, restrains, or interferes with an employee's FMLA rights. This can look like:
- Refusing to grant leave to someone who's actually eligible
- Discouraging an employee from even asking for leave
- Failing to reinstate an employee to their same or an equivalent position after leave
- Reducing an employee's pay, benefits, or responsibilities upon return without a legitimate reason
FMLA retaliation
Retaliation is different from interference, though the two frequently show up together. Retaliation means an employer punishes an employee for requesting or using FMLA leave. Common patterns include:
- Termination shortly after a leave request or return to work
- Demotion or a sudden reduction in hours
- Negative performance reviews that appear out of nowhere
- Being excluded from meetings, projects, or opportunities that were previously part of the job
Common Situations That Bring People to an FMLA Attorney
Fired during or right after leave
An employee takes approved leave and returns to a termination notice, or gets let go within days or weeks of coming back. Employers often cite unrelated performance issues, but the timing tells its own story.
Denied leave despite qualifying
An employee meets every eligibility requirement, but HR denies the request anyway, sometimes with a vague explanation or no explanation at all.
Pressured to resign instead of taking leave
Rather than approving leave, a manager suggests the employee "just resign" or hints that their job won't be there when they get back, discouraging them from using a right they're legally entitled to.
Job changed or downgraded upon return
An employee comes back from leave to find their responsibilities stripped down, their title changed, or their schedule cut, even though FMLA requires reinstatement to an equivalent position.
Intermittent leave denied or discouraged
Some medical conditions require leave in smaller increments rather than one continuous block. Employers sometimes resist approving intermittent leave, or penalize employees who use it, even though FMLA specifically allows for it.
What to Do If You Think Your FMLA Rights Were Violated
Document everything
Strong documentation often makes the difference in an FMLA case. Employees should keep records of:
- Dates and methods of every leave request
- Emails or written communication with HR or a supervisor about leave
- Performance reviews and disciplinary records from before and after the leave
- Names of anyone who witnessed relevant conversations or treatment
Understand your filing deadlines
FMLA claims are subject to a statute of limitations. Generally, employees have two years from the violation to file a claim, extended to three years if the violation was willful. These deadlines are strict, and missing one can end a valid claim before it starts. This is general information, not legal advice about your specific timeline, so it's worth confirming your exact deadline with an attorney as soon as possible.
Talk to an attorney before signing anything
Employers sometimes offer a severance agreement or release around the same time an FMLA issue arises. Signing away your rights without understanding what you're giving up can be a costly mistake. Getting a quick legal review before you sign protects you either way.
Why Michigan Employees Choose Scott Batey
Employment law, exclusively
Batey Law is Employment Law. Scott doesn't split his attention between employment cases, car accidents, and estate planning. Every case that comes through the door involves the same core question: did an employer break the law, and what does the employee do about it now.
Direct access to Scott himself
When you call Batey Law, you're not routed to a junior associate you've never met. Scott has practiced employment law since 1996, and he's the one who talks to clients, evaluates their situations, and builds their cases.
Local knowledge that matters
Michigan FMLA cases often overlap with state protections like ELCRA and PWDCRA, especially when a leave request is tied to a disability or medical condition. Scott understands how these laws interact, and how Michigan courts and Metro Detroit employers tend to handle these disputes in practice.
You Don't Have to Figure This Out Alone
Most people who come to Scott aren't sure whether what happened to them crosses a legal line. That's a completely normal place to be. FMLA cases often hinge on details that feel small in the moment, a comment from a manager, an odd change in schedule, a review that doesn't match years of good performance, but add up to something serious.
You don't need to have it all figured out before reaching out. You just need to be willing to lay out what happened and let someone with the right experience tell you honestly where you stand. Whether your situation involves a denied leave request, a job that changed after you returned, or a termination that landed right after you got back, it's worth having someone look at it who knows exactly what to look for.
Talk to Scott Before You Decide Your Next Move
Signing paperwork, accepting a severance offer, or simply letting things go can all feel easier than pushing back. But those decisions are hard to undo once they're made. A conversation with Scott Batey costs you nothing and gives you a clear picture of your options before you commit to any of them.
Scott Batey Batey Law Firm, PLLC 30200 Telegraph Rd., Suite 400, Bingham Farms, MI 48025
This content is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Contact Batey Law for guidance specific to your situation.