Question

4. Marlene works for Frenzied Traders, a stockbrokerage with a seat on the New York Stock Exchange. For several years, Marlene has been a floor trader, spending all day in the hurly-burly of stock trading, yelling herself hoarse. Each year, she has received a large bonus from the company. She has just told the company that she is pregnant. Citing a company policy, she is told she can no longer engage in trading because it is too tiring for pregnant women. Instead, she may take a backroom job, though the company cannot guarantee that the floor job will be open after she delivers. Marlene also wants to take six months off after her child is born. The company says it cannot afford to give her that time. It has a policy of granting paid leave to anyone recuperating from a stay in the hospital and unpaid leave for four months thereafter. What legal rights does Marlene have, and what remedies is she entitled to?

Answer 1

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) states that any private organization with at least 50 employees are covered under this act. Therefore the first legal aspect to be ascertained is whether Marlene's company Frenzied Traders qualifies to be covered under FMLA

The Act states that an employee is eligible to take upto 12 work weeks of leave in a period of 12 months in the event of birth of a child.

Marlene is therefore legally entitled to 3 months of leave after child birth if her company is covered under FMLA. In case the company is not eligible to be covered under the Act, Marlene has to go by company policy and personal negotiation to avail her demanded leave.

With regards to job profile, Marlene has to agree to company policy of work responsibilities. She cannot dispute this as this is based on company's assessment of employee efficiency and deliverance.