An employee took a 12 week unpaid absence from his job as a dining room manager to care for his injured, elderly mother. when the employee came back, the supervisor said that he was being reassigned to a host position because he obviously didn't care enough about his job. what law may have been violated?

• A. Americans with Disabilities Act
• B. National Labor Relations Act
• C. Family Medical Leave Act
• D. Fair Labor Standards Act

Answer: (C)

The Family Medical Leave Act is being tested here. This law provides eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave within a 12-month period to care for a family member with a serious health condition, and it requires the employee to be restored to the same or an equivalent position after the leave ends. In this scenario, the employee took 12 weeks off to care for his injured, elderly mother, and upon returning was reassigned to a lower-host role because the supervisor claimed he didn’t care enough about the job. That action would violate FMLA protections, since the law protects against retaliation for taking leave and guarantees reinstatement to the same or an equivalent position. The other laws don’t fit as well: the Americans with Disabilities Act deals with disabilities and reasonable accommodations, the National Labor Relations Act focuses on union rights and collective bargaining, and the Fair Labor Standards Act addresses minimum wage and overtime.