Dealing with a serious health condition requiring surgery and weeks of recovery, or welcoming a newborn who needs you at home during those precious first weeks, can be overwhelming enough without worrying about job security. When you approach your employer about taking time off, they may seem hesitant or dismissive about your request. Understanding whether they can legally deny your Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) request is essential for protecting your rights and your family’s well-being.
Your employer cannot arbitrarily deny FMLA leave if you meet the legal requirements. However, the reality involves more nuances than many Maryland workers realize, and understanding the complexities of FMLA eligibility and employer obligations can help you avoid being caught off guard.
What Is FMLA and How Does It Work in Maryland?
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that entitles eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for specified family and medical reasons. In Maryland, this federal protection applies just as it does in every other state, providing job protection for workers who need time away for serious medical situations.
The law is codified in U.S. Code, Title 29 § 2601 et seq., and it serves as the primary protection for workers facing family and medical emergencies. Unlike some employment laws that vary significantly from state to state, FMLA creates a uniform baseline of protection across the country.
Maryland has enacted its own paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program to complement federal FMLA. Starting January 1, 2027, payroll contributions will begin, and eligible employees will start receiving benefits—including up to 12 weeks of job-protected paid leave—on January 3, 2028, at up to $1,000 per week.
When Can Your Employer Actually Deny Your FMLA Request?
Your employer can legally deny your FMLA request in several specific circumstances:
You Don’t Meet the Employee Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible for FMLA benefits, you must meet these requirements
- Work at least 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months (roughly 24 hours per week if you’ve been with the company for a full year)
- Be employed by your current employer for at least 12 months (these months don’t need to be consecutive)
If you started your job nine months ago, even if you’ve been working full-time, your employer can legally deny your FMLA request because you haven’t met the 12-month employment requirement.
Your Employer Isn’t Covered by FMLA
To be covered under the law, your employer must meet specific criteria
- Employ 50 or more employees
- The 50-employee threshold is calculated based on employees within a 75-mile radius of your worksite
If you work for a small business with fewer than 50 employees, FMLA simply doesn’t apply to your workplace at all. Even if your company has 200 employees nationwide, if only 30 work within 75 miles of your location, your employer isn’t required to provide FMLA leave.
Your Requested Leave Doesn’t Qualify Under FMLA
FMLA covers specific types of leave, and your situation must fit into one of these categories.
- Your own serious health condition that makes you unable to perform your job functions
- Caring for your spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition
- Bonding with a new child (birth, adoption, or foster placement)
- Military family leave for qualifying exigencies
- Military caregiver leave for seriously injured service members
If your request falls outside these categories, your employer can legally deny it. For example, wanting time off to care for a seriously ill grandparent or best friend, while emotionally important, doesn’t qualify for FMLA protection.
You Haven’t Provided Proper Documentation
Employers have the right to request medical certification for health-related FMLA leave. If you fail to provide adequate documentation within the required timeframe (typically 15 calendar days), your employer can deny your leave request. The documentation must come from a healthcare provider and include specific information about the medical condition and need for leave.
How Much FMLA Leave Are You Entitled To?
The standard FMLA entitlement includes several options:
- Continuous Leave. You can take all 12 weeks at once for situations like recovering from major surgery or bonding with a new baby.
- Intermittent Leave. You have the right to take FMLA leave all at once, or, when medically necessary, in separate blocks of time or by reducing the time you work each day or week. This is particularly helpful for ongoing medical treatments like chemotherapy or dialysis.
- Military Caregiver Leave. If you’re caring for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness, you may be entitled to up to 26 weeks of leave in a single 12-month period.
What Your Employer Must Do When You Request FMLA Leave
When you make an FMLA request, your employer has specific obligations
- Provide you with written notice about your FMLA rights and responsibilities within five business days of becoming aware of your need for leave
- Cannot simply ignore your request or provide vague responses about company policy
- Must provide written notice explaining why your leave request was denied if they believe you don’t qualify for FMLA, referencing the specific eligibility criteria you don’t meet
- Must designate your leave as FMLA-qualifying if it meets the requirements, even if you don’t specifically mention “FMLA” in your request
Common Employer Mistakes That Violate Your Rights
Many employers in Maryland make mistakes when handling FMLA requests, sometimes due to misunderstanding the law and other times due to intentional interference with employee rights.
- Discouraging FMLA Use. Your employer cannot discourage you from taking FMLA leave or make statements suggesting that taking leave will negatively impact your job security or advancement opportunities.
- Counting FMLA Leave Against Attendance. If your employer has an attendance policy that counts absences against employees, they cannot count FMLA leave as an attendance infraction. However, they can count non-FMLA absences that exceed your FMLA entitlement.
- Requiring You to Find Coverage. While you should follow normal company procedures for requesting time off, your employer cannot require you to find someone to cover your work duties as a condition of approving FMLA leave.
- Delaying Designation. Your employer must designate qualifying leave as FMLA leave promptly. They cannot wait until you’ve used up other types of leave first, then retroactively apply FMLA designation.
Maryland’s Additional Leave Protections
Maryland provides several additional leave protections that work alongside FMLA:
Flexible Leave Act
The Flexible Leave Act (section 3-802 of the Labor and Employment Article) applies to employers with 15 or more employees and allows workers to use earned paid leave to care for an immediate family member who is ill or for bereavement leave upon the death of an immediate family member. This law prohibits employers from discharging, demoting, suspending, disciplining, or otherwise discriminating against employees who exercise rights under this law.
Maryland Healthy Working Families Act
This law requires that employers with 15 or more employees provide paid sick and safe leave for certain employees, while employers with 14 or fewer employees must provide unpaid sick and safe leave.
Maryland Parental Leave Act
Under the Parental Leave Act, employers with 15 to 49 employees must allow eligible employees to take up to six workweeks of unpaid leave in any 12-month period for the birth of the employee’s child or the placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care.
Deployment Leave
Maryland also provides Deployment Leave for individuals working for employers with 50 or more employees who have worked for the employer for the last 12 months, offering protections for military families beyond what FMLA provides.
What to Do If Your Employer Wrongfully Denies FMLA Leave
If you believe your employer has wrongfully denied your FMLA leave request, you have several options.
Document Everything. Keep copies of your leave request, any medical documentation you provided, and all communications with your employer about your leave. This documentation will be vital if you need to take legal action.
File a Federal Complaint. You can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, which enforces FMLA. They will investigate your complaint and can require your employer to comply with the law.
Consider Legal Action. You also have the right to file a private lawsuit against your employer for FMLA violations. If successful, you may be entitled to damages including lost wages, benefits, and attorney fees.
Protecting Your Job While on FMLA Leave
FMLA requires that group health benefits be maintained during the leave, and you have the right to return to the same position or an equivalent position when your leave ends.
However, there are some important limitations
- If you would have been laid off regardless of taking FMLA leave, your employer doesn’t have to hold your job
- If you’re among the highest-paid 10% of employees at your worksite, your employer may deny job restoration if it would cause “substantial and grievous economic injury” to their operations
- Your employer cannot retaliate against you for taking FMLA leave, including demoting you, cutting your hours, or treating you differently because you exercised your FMLA rights
Key Takeaways
- Your employer cannot arbitrarily deny FMLA leave if you meet the eligibility requirements and your situation qualifies.
- You must work for a covered employer (50+ employees within 75 miles), have worked for 12 months, and have worked at least 1,250 hours in the past year.
- FMLA covers specific family and medical situations, not all types of personal leave.
- Your employer must provide written notice about FMLA rights and cannot discourage you from using leave.
- Maryland will offer paid family leave benefits starting in 2028, enhancing federal protections.
- Document all communications about your leave request and seek legal help if your rights are violated.
- You have job protection and continued health benefits while on approved FMLA leave.
- Maryland’s Flexible Leave Act applies to employers with 15+ employees for using earned paid leave for family illness.
- Additional Maryland leave laws provide extra protections for workers in smaller companies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my employer require me to use my vacation time before taking unpaid FMLA leave?
Yes, your employer can require you to use accrued paid leave (vacation, sick time, personal days) concurrently with FMLA leave. However, this doesn’t extend your total leave time – it just means part of your 12 weeks will be paid.
What if I need more than 12 weeks of leave?
FMLA only guarantees 12 weeks (or 26 for military caregiver leave) in a 12-month period. After that, you may need to rely on other protections like the Americans with Disabilities Act or your employer’s voluntary policies.
Can I take FMLA leave if I’m pregnant but not yet unable to work?
FMLA leave for pregnancy is available when you have a serious health condition that makes you unable to work, or for bonding with your new baby after birth. Routine prenatal care typically doesn’t qualify, but complications or bed rest orders would.
How does my employer calculate the 12-month period for FMLA?
Employers can choose one of four methods to calculate the 12-month period. The most common are the calendar year or a rolling 12-month period measured backward from when you use leave.
Can I be fired while on FMLA leave?
You cannot be fired because you took FMLA leave, but you can be terminated for legitimate reasons unrelated to your leave, such as layoffs that would have affected you anyway.
Contact The Spencer Firm Today
If your employer has denied your FMLA leave request or you’re facing retaliation for exercising your leave rights, don’t wait to get the legal help you need. The Spencer Firm, LLC has been protecting Maryland workers’ rights for years, and we know exactly how to hold employers accountable when they violate FMLA law.
Every day you delay could mean lost wages, continued violation of your rights, or missed deadlines for filing claims. Our team will review your situation at no cost and help you determine the best path forward. We work on a contingency basis for many employment law cases, which means you don’t pay attorney fees unless we win your case.
Your family and health should come first, not your employer’s convenience. Contact The Spencer Firm today to schedule your free consultation and take the first step toward protecting your rights under Maryland and federal law.
