Lenovo Inc. Pays Employee $108,152 After Violating Family and Medical Leave Act at North Carolina Headquarters

MORRISVILLE, NC – Computer manufacturer Lenovo Inc. has paid an employee $108,152 to resolve violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act disclosed in an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

WHD investigators determined that Lenovo, headquartered in Morrisville, North Carolina, failed to reinstate an eligible employee upon return from FMLA leave to the same or equivalent position the worker held prior to the leave, as the law requires. Instead, the employer offered the employee an opportunity to apply for other company positions. After Lenovo failed to hire the worker for any of the alternative positions, the employer terminated the employee.

“The Family and Medical Leave Act provides employees with workplace flexibility when they need it the most by protecting them when they have a serious health condition requiring the need to care for themselves or family members,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Richard Blaylock, in Raleigh, North Carolina. “The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to ensuring that employees’ rights under the FMLA are protected. We encourage employers to review the numerous tools and resources we provide to help them understand their rights and obligations under this law.”

The Department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos and confidential calls to local WHD offices.

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

WHD’s mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation’s workforce. WHD enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.