Tennessee Appliance Manufacturer Violates Family and Medical Leave Act, Pays Former Employee $43,014 for Unlawful Termination

SPRINGFIELD, TN – Appliance manufacturer Electrolux North America Inc. – based in Springfield, Tennessee – has paid a former employee $43,014 in lost wages after a U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation determined the company violated the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

WHD investigators found Electrolux North America Inc. – which operates as Electrolux Major Appliances – discharged the employee for absences the employer should have recognized as allowed under the FMLA. The employer failed to categorize the absences as FMLA-protected leave and instead labeled them as unauthorized, triggering the disciplinary action.

“The Family and Medical Leave Act allows for critically needed workplace flexibility precisely when employees need it the most,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Nettie Lewis, in Nashville. “The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to educating employers and to enforcing the law to ensure worker protections and to level the playing field for all employers.”

For more information about the FMLA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE(487-9243). Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd.