FMLA Reinstatement: Bonuses and Pay Increases

JD Supra recently released a reminder that any employee “returning from FMLA leave is entitled to any unconditional pay increases that may have occurred during the FMLA leave period”.

An example of an unconditional pay increase would be a cost of living increase.

According to JD Supra:

  • “Pay increases conditioned upon seniority, length of service, work performed or the achievement of a specified goal must be granted in accordance with the employer’s policy or practice with respect to non-FMLA leaves; and
  • If an employer has a practice of pro-rating a bonus for employees who are on a non-FMLA unpaid leave to account for the time the employee worked, the bonus should be similarly pro-rated for employees who take FMLA leave and, as a result, don’t meet the bonus requirement.”

For the full article, please click here.


The information included in this blog post originally appeared in an article from JD Supra on June 11, 2019 written by David Mohl of Jackson Lewis P.C.

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