The Utah Business and Employment Lawyer

Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in 1993 in an attempt to balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of families. When a family emergency arises, the FMLA provides protection to employees by ensuring that employees are not asked to choose between their employment and their family obligations.    At its core, the FMLA  provides job security to employees who must miss work because of their own illnesses, to care for family members who have illnesses, or to care for newborns.  To be eligible for FMLA leave,   an employee must have worked at least a year and at least 1250 hours in the past year, and work for an employer with at least 50 employees within 75 miles.  The employee can take leave for the following reasons: a) birth or newborn care; b) adoption or foster care; c) family care for a serious health condition; d) care for the employee's own serious health condition; e) qualifying exigency due to family member in the ...

A recent decision issued on May 7, 2015 by the Utah Court of Appeals, Francis v. National DME , 2015 UT App 119, underscores the importance of making a proper demand for wages prior to filing a lawsuit and seeking attorneys fees and costs under Utah Code Ann. § 34-27-1 (allowing recovery of attorneys fees to recover wages). In Francis , National DME terminated Francis's employment after he failed to report to work for three consecutive days. He subsequently filed a wage claim with the Utah Labor Commission. Thereafter, Francis sent written demand for payment of wages he believed were owing, stating in his demand that he was owed more than $15,000 in commissions, among other damages. At trial, the jury awarded Francis $24,000 in commissions. However, on appeal, the Court of Appeals struck the award, finding that the evidence submitted at trial only supported an award of $9,700 in commissions. Because the award was actually less than what was demanded, Francis was not entitled to...