Dallas Employment Lawyer Blog
Dallas Senior Trial Attorney Deontae Wherry
You did everything right. You asked for the leave you were entitled to, whether it was to recover from surgery, care for a sick parent, or welcome a new baby. Then something felt off. Maybe your employer made the leave difficult, dragged their feet, or acted like you were causing a problem. Or maybe you came back to find your hours cut, a bad review out of nowhere, or a pink slip waiting for you. If any of that sounds familiar, you may have a claim under the Family and Medical Leave Act, and it helps to understand exactly what kind.
The most important thing to know is this: under the FMLA, there are two separate ways an employer can break the law. One is interference. The other is retaliation. They sound similar, but they are two different claims, and knowing the difference can make all the difference in protecting your rights.
First, Do You Even Qualify for FMLA Leave?
Before anything else, it helps to know whether the law covers you. The FMLA generally applies if your employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles, you have worked there for at least 12 months, and you have logged at least 1,250 hours in the past year.
If you qualify, you are entitled to up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period, for your own serious health condition, to care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition, or for the birth or adoption of a child. And here is the key promise when your leave ends, your employer must give you your job back, or an equivalent one, with the same pay and benefits.
Interference: When You Are Blocked From Taking Leave
Interference is about access. It happens when your employer gets in the way of the leave you are entitled to in the first place. You do not have to prove they had bad intentions. The only question is whether they interfered with your rights.
Interference can look like your employer refusing to grant leave you qualify for, discouraging you from taking it, failing to tell you about your FMLA rights, demanding you keep working while on approved leave, counting your FMLA time against you under an attendance policy, or refusing to give you your job back when you return. In short, interference asks one simple question: “Did my employer stop me from getting the leave I was owed?”
Retaliation: When You Are Punished for Taking Leave
Retaliation is different. It is not about being denied leave, it is about being punished for using it. Here, your employer’s motive matters. Retaliation happens when they take a negative action against you because you asked for or took FMLA leave.
That punishment can take many forms: being fired, demoted, or written up, having your hours or pay cut, being passed over for a promotion, or suddenly getting bad reviews that do not match your real work. Timing is often the giveaway. If you were a strong employee for years and got disciplined or fired right after returning from leave, that sequence can be powerful evidence. Retaliation asks: “Did my employer punish me for taking the leave?”
The same situation can involve both. An employer who denies your leave and then fires you for speaking up may have committed interference and retaliation. Because the two are proven in different ways, it matters that you recognize each one.
What You Can Do to Protect Yourself
A little documentation goes a long way. If you think your FMLA rights were violated:
- • Keep copies of your leave requests, medical certifications, and any approvals or denials.
- • Save emails, texts, and notes showing how you were treated before and after your leave.
- • Hold on to your performance reviews, especially ones from before you asked for leave.
- • Write down dates, names, and what was said, while it is still fresh.
There are also deadlines. FMLA claims generally must be brought within two years of the violation, or three years if the violation was willful.
Schedule A Consultation
FMLA cases can turn on the details, and employers often have lawyers working to protect their side. If you believe your employer interfered with your leave, retaliated against you for taking it, or both, you should schedule a consultation with me.