Eight people have filed a class action lawsuit in Ohio against the Dayton Regional Transit Authority claiming the bus company violated employee rights granted under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The FMLA allows employees to seek unpaid leave to accommodate the medical needs of close family relatives.

The eight workers say in their FMLA claim that the bus company unlawfully found applications for medical leave under the Act were incomplete or insufficient. Part of the claims are centered on the bus company's requirement include allegations that the company required workers to obtain second and even third medical opinions, required the employees to foot the bill for the additional medical opinions and contacted the employee's health care providers for improper purposes.

Under the FMLA employees have certain rights, which include having up to 12 weeks unpaid time off to deal with family and medical issues. The FMLA also ensures that employees still have their job once they come back from that leave, and prohibits employers from firing a worker in retaliation for seeking FMLA leave.

Generally the FMLA requires employers who have more than 50 employees to grant up to 12 weeks medical leave each year to employees who need the time to seek medical care or provide such care to family members. The company reportedly has a policy that allows for drivers to have up to 15 unexcused absences in a given year before the worker faces potential termination. The bus company says FMLA absences are not included when calculating unexcused absences.

Apparently, according to the lawsuit, the bus company requires employees to undergo rigorous second and third medical opinions before FMLA leave is acknowledged. The class action employee rights lawsuit was filed July 20 in Dayton, Ohio.

Source: Dayton Daily News, "Suit says RTA denied FMLA leave," Thomas Gnau, Aug. 9, 2011