U.S. Department of Labor and Michigan Nursing Homes Resolve Family Medical Leave Act Violations

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The U.S. District Court in Western Michigan has entered a consent judgment resolving violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) found at two Michigan nursing homes by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. The nursing homes are Pine River Healthcare LLC, which operates as Pine River Healthcare Center, and Fremont Healthcare LLC, which operates as Transitional Healthcare Service of Fremont.

Wage and Hour Division investigators found both nursing facilities failed to inform employees that their conditions potentially qualified for FMLA leave and failed to provide notice and information to employees on the FMLA. The nursing homes assessed attendance points to and/or disciplined employees who exceeded absence limits while missing work for potentially FMLA-qualified reasons and required employees to make arrangements with other workers to cover their shifts when absent.

The order requires the nursing homes to provide workers with timely information about their right to request FMLA leave and to train supervisors and administrators on the law’s requirements. Additionally, the nursing homes will train head floor nurses and human resource administrators on the qualifying reasons for FMLA, how to recognize and respond to information from employees that indicates a potential need for FMLA leave, and how to provide FMLA notification. Employees will also receive FMLA fact sheets.

“The Family Medical Leave Act provides workers protection to attend their own medical appointments, and to care for family members without risking their jobs,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Mary O’Rourke, in Grand Rapids. “Our education and outreach efforts continue to ensure that employers understand their responsibilities.”

Both facilities are operated by Consulate Healthcare of Maitland, Florida, which manages more than 200 facilities nationwide.

Workers and employers with questions about the FMLA and all of the federal wage laws administered by the Division should call the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). All calls are confidential.  More information is available online at http://www.dol.gov/whd/.

Case number: 2:17-cv-12321