If you qualify for FMLA leave in Texas, your employer generally cannot fire you because you took that leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act gives eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for certain family and medical reasons, keeps group health benefits in place during leave, and usually gives the employee the right to return to the same job or an equivalent one when leave ends.
It sounds simple, and on paper, it should be. However, employers are not always happy to wait for employees and can create systems that are unwelcoming, hostile, or end up firing their employees while they are gone.
We see a lot of employees who ask this after they’ve already left for surgery, taken time off for pregnancy complications, undergone treatment for a serious health condition, or taken time off to care for a parent after a stroke. Then, when they come back to work, the energy in the office has changed, or the job looks entirely different from what it did when they left.
How Does FMLA Protect Your Job in Texas?
FMLA leave in Texas is federal law. For most private employees, there is no separate Texas version with a different set of rules. To qualify, the employer usually must be covered, and the employee usually must have worked for that employer for at least 12 months, logged at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before leave began, and worked at a location where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles.
Once those rules are met, the law provides real protection. The Department of Labor says an employer cannot interfere with FMLA rights, cannot use FMLA leave as a negative factor in employment decisions, and cannot count protected leave under attendance policies that punish absences automatically. That comes into play when someone requests leave and gets written up days later, or returns to find their protected time off counted against them.
Public agencies, like independent school districts and municipalities, are covered employers, too. But there are limitations for employees of a state-level agency, like a department of state government, a state-run public university, or a charter school – for these employees, who are employed directly by the State of Texas, taking FMLA leave for their own medical issue, as opposed to for a family member’s medical issue or the birth of a child, the FMLA still protects them but there are limitations to enforcing the FMLA due to sovereign immunity issues. It’s important to speak with an experienced employment lawyer to navigate these tricky issues.
Can an Employer Still Fire You While You Are on FMLA Leave?
Sometimes, yes. FMLA does not stop every employment decision for 12 weeks. An employer can still fire someone during or after leave if they can demonstrate that the employee would have lost their job anyway for a reason unrelated to leave. The Department of Labor gives examples, such as a layoff, where the firing would have happened no matter what.
For this reason, these cases often depend on the record. Imagine one employee asks for leave for back surgery and gets fired two days later, after years of solid reviews and no real discipline history. Now imagine another employee is on leave when a whole department is cut, and several people lose their jobs. Those are two very different scenarios.
What Facts Usually Decide an FMLA Case?
Timing matters. So do the documents. If the criticism started only after the leave request, that can be a helpful deciding factor. If attendance suddenly became a problem only when protected leave began, that can be a helpful deciding factor as well. If the employer says the positions are gone but then hires someone else into the exact same position a week later, that’s another factor. Emails, reviews, disciplinary notes, leave paperwork, and the order of events can all shape how a case is read.
What Job Do You Have the Right To Return To?
The FMLA generally says an eligible employee should return to the same position or an equivalent one. According to the Department of Labor, an equivalent position must be virtually identical in pay, benefits, and working conditions, with substantially similar duties and responsibilities.
So, if someone comes back from leave and gets moved to a weaker shift, a smaller role, or a job with lower status and different duties, that can raise a separate problem even if the employer never says the employee was fired. A title change by itself doesn’t answer the question. What matters is whether or not the role is truly on the same level as the one the employee left.
What It Comes Down To
Whether a firing is lawful often depends on one question: why did it happen? If the leave triggered the decision, the law generally sides with the employee. But if the employer had a separate, documentable reason, the picture gets more complicated. That’s why the timeline and the paper trail can make or break these cases.
FAQ
I got fired while I was on FMLA leave. Does that mean my employer broke the law?
Not every firing during leave breaks the law. An employer may still be able to show the job would have ended anyway because of a layoff, a shutdown, or another reason that is unrelated to the leave taken. Still, if the explanation doesn’t add up or the timing feels off, it’s worth taking a closer look for possible illegal termination.
Can my employer bring me back to a worse job after FMLA leave?
Usually, no. The FMLA generally says that you should come back to the same job or one that is truly equivalent to your former role. That means comparable pay, benefits, schedule, working conditions, and duties. A new title does not answer the whole question. What matters is whether or not the rule you returned to is genuinely on the same level as the one you left.
If you were fired after taking FMLA leave in Texas and want to know whether your employer may have crossed a legal line, contact Jackson Spencer Law for a free comprehensive assessment.
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