When employees believe their rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act have been violated, there are two primary types of claims they may file with the U.S. Department of Labor or pursue through litigation. Those claims are interference claims and retaliation claims. While they are often discussed together, they are legally distinct and require different analysis.

FMLA interference claims arise when an employer’s actions interfere with, restrain, or deny an employee’s ability to exercise their rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act. These claims do not require bad intent. An employer can fully approve leave and still be found liable if the process, communication, or treatment discourages or disrupts the employee’s rights. That reality is what makes interference claims so dangerous and so common.

What many employers misunderstand is that interference focuses on the effect of the employer’s conduct, not the motivation behind it. Delays, comments, procedural barriers, or conditioning leave on approval from a manager instead of HR can all trigger exposure. Courts consistently hold that even subtle actions that make FMLA harder to use may violate the law.

Common Examples of FMLA Interference Claims

• Delaying approval of FMLA leave after receiving sufficient notice

• Requiring employees to find their own coverage before approving leave

• Discouraging leave by commenting on staffing shortages or workload

• Failing to provide required FMLA notices and eligibility information

• Asking employees to work while on approved FMLA leave

• Conditioning leave approval on performance improvement

• Requiring excessive or unnecessary medical documentation

• Miscalculating available FMLA time

• Denying leave because the timing is inconvenient

• Counting FMLA absences under attendance or no fault policies

• Failing to designate leave as FMLA when required

• Requiring employees to delay medical treatment

• Applying stricter standards to employees who request leave

• Failing to reinstate employees to the same or equivalent position

• Pressuring employees to use paid time instead of FMLA

Interference claims often begin with small missteps that feel operational but carry serious legal consequences. Strong HR leadership focuses on process, documentation, neutrality, and consistency every time a leave request is raised.

If you want to build confidence handling complex FMLA and ADA scenarios like this, I invite you to join me in my upcoming 2 Day FMLA ADA Certificate Programs on January 14, 2026 and February 25, 2026. These programs are designed to help HR professionals apply the law correctly, coach managers effectively, and build defensible leave practices.

Link to review/register: https://hrtrainingclasses.com/product/2-day-fmla-ada-pda-and-pwfa-certificate-program/

#FMLACompliance #HRCompliance #EmploymentLaw #LeaveManagement #HRLeadership

Elga Lejarza

Founder & CEO

HRTrainingClasses.com

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