Employment Law Cases – Cleveland Board of Education v. LaFleur

Previous cases that have been settled by a ruling by the Supreme Court set the precedent for cases that are heard today. Ty Hyderally has been successfully litigating employment law in New Jersey for many years and is considered an expert in his field. Cases like Cleveland Board of Education v. LaFleur help to determine many of the rulings that are handed down in courtrooms today.

Cleveland Board of Education v. LaFleur established that regulations regarding maternity leave were too restrictive and that these rules for public school employees violated the Due Process Clause of the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments. This ruling which drastically altered mandatory maternity leave guidelines was a great win on behalf of women in the workplace.

Teaching was one of the first careers in which American women dominated. Previous to this most women were housewives. The bias that believed a women’s primary role was that of a housewife dominated political offices, male administrators and was very much so of the school systems across the country. Because of this bias, married women were discouraged from entering the workforce period, but specifically from taking teaching positions. And many times being a married woman was an immediate disqualification for a teaching job. It was the general consensus that men and single women were in more need of a job than a married woman. After WWII caused so many labor shortages married women became more eligible for teaching positions. However, the prejudice against married women continued.

Prejudice began to focus more on pregnant women and in 1948 a survey conducted by the NEA showed that nearly half of the schools had no policy regarding maternity leave, and the remaining schools had a compulsory maternity leave. This mandatory leave forced teachers to take from 4 to 6 months leave before childbirth and a long period of time after the birth. These were unpaid leaves that were forced upon women teachers who were pregnant. Basically, if a woman was visibly pregnant, she would not be allowed to work, thus implying that she was not capable of meeting the demands of the job. The court ruled this as faulty reasoning.

The Supreme Court ruling was that this sort of compulsive maternity leave is unconstitutional. The Court stated it was too arbitrary, meaning that there was no reasonable explanation of the fixed dates. It also stated that there was no way to decide individual medical conditions for a whole group of people. The right of an individual to choose when to take maternity leave without such restrictive regulations was upheld.

History of the FMLA

As with most legislation which deals with employment law, The Family Medical Leave Act can become complicated quickly. However, Ty Hyderally is an expert and has years of successful litigation in such cases. His firm successfully litigates cases dealing with FMLA and other facets of employment law in New Jersey.

This law states that certain employees may take an unpaid leave of absence for a period of up to 12 weeks during each 12 month period. According to the federal Family Medical Leave Act this leave can be taken to care for a newborn child, attend to an ill family member, or for the employee who is experiencing serious health issues. In 2008 revisions were made to the FMLA which extended this time to 26 weeks to care for a family member who is in the Armed Forces. The employee is ensured that their job is protected during their leave of absence.

President Bill Clinton signed the first FMLA legislation into law August 5, 1993, just 16 days after his inauguration. The law is carefully worded to ensure that it is gender neutral. However, the initial purpose of the law was intended to protect women who took extended leave to take care of a newborn child.

The FMLA applies to employers who employ 50 persons or more for 20 or more workweeks per year. This covers public employers such as schools and other public agencies whether state, local or federal. Employees who desire to take an unpaid leave are required to have worked for the employer for at least 1250 hours for the preceding 12 months, although those months do not have to be consecutive. Employees must give employers at least a 30 day notice before the leave time will begin. An employer can also request a certification from a medical professional if an employee takes the leave to care for an immediate family member who has any sort of serious medical condition, or if the employee is suffering from some sort of health condition.

According to the FMLA an employer cannot retaliate or discriminate against an employee who takes an unpaid leave that is covered by FMLA guidelines. The employee must be reinstated to their former position or at least to a position which is equivalent. The employer also cannot terminate employee’s benefits during the leave. Also under the FMLA an employer is prohibited from any garnishment of said employee’s benefits which have accrued such as paid vacation.