The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has announced the recovery of $20,107 in back wages for a former employee of the Bank of Dudley, headquartered in Jeffersonville, Ga.
According to the Labor Department, the employee, located in Dublin, Ga., was wrongfully retaliated and terminated by the bank for exercising their rights to request and use the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
“The Family and Medical Leave Act prevents workers from being forced to make the difficult choice between keeping their jobs and caring for their themselves or their families,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Steven Salazar in Atlanta. “While employers may request a second opinion if they doubt the validity of the doctor’s assessment, the law does not allow employers to request confidential medical information or to evade regulations under the guise of other laws.”
Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found Bank of Dudley illegally fired a loan operations assistant at its Dublin location after they exercised their right to request and use FMLA-protected leave for a qualifying health condition. Division investigators determined the employer failed to:
Designate leave as FMLA-qualifying.
Engage with the employee regarding their request for FMLA-qualifying leave.
Safeguard federally protected medical information beyond that required by the certification form.
Request a second medical opinion at the employer’s cost when uncertain of the physician’s approval.
Maintain the employee’s medical coverage as required.
According to the Wage and Hour Division, the Bank of Dudley employs 65 people in six branches in Georgia.
Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division
confidentially with questions, regardless of immigration status, and the
department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. Learn more about the Wage and Hour
Division, including a search
tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the
division.
More at https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20230221
