7 Warning Signs Your Employer Is Retaliating Against You for Taking FMLA Leave

1. You were fired shortly after returning from leave

This is the most common pattern. Courts call it "temporal proximity," and it is powerful evidence. In Brennan v. Five Below(E.D. Pa. 2025), an employee was fired 15 days before her FMLA leave was set to begin. The court called this "unusually suggestive" timing and allowed the case to proceed to trial. In Mulfort v. State of Florida (M.D. Fla. 2025), a Chief of Staff was terminated less than one week after the employer learned about her post-partum depression diagnosis.

2. Your performance reviews turned negative after leave

If you had consistently positive reviews before taking leave and your first negative review came after, courts treat that shift as evidence of retaliation. In Hester v. Bell-Textron(5th Cir. 2021), an employee received her first negative review in a 21-year career after taking FMLA leave. The appeals court reversed the dismissal. In Wayland v. OSF Healthcare(7th Cir. 2024), the employer gave a negative review and told the employee there was "no choice" but to meet accelerated deadlines on a reduced schedule after FMLA.

3. Your position was "eliminated" or given away while you were out

Your employer must restore you to the same position or an equivalent one when you return. The DOL has stated there is no "compelling business interest" exception to this rule (DOL Opinion Letter FMLA-95). In Clark v. Restaurant Growth Services (M.D. Tenn. 2025), the employer closed locations and installed a new manager while the employee was on leave. When she tried to return, the new manager "turned her away and instructed her to wait for a call." Two of three terminated managers were on FMLA leave.

4. Your hours were cut or your schedule was changed

Reducing your hours, reassigning you to less desirable shifts, or restructuring your role after leave can all be retaliation. In Monbelly v. Allied Universal (W.D. La. 2025), the employer cut the employee's hours after he asserted his FMLA rights, then reinstated them in clustered shifts that aggravated his medical condition. The employer also denied a raise and concealed his performance review. All claims survived the motion to dismiss.

5. You were disciplined for FMLA-protected absences

Employers cannot count FMLA leave under no-fault attendance policies or point systems (29 C.F.R. 825.220, DOL Opinion Letter FMLA2018-1-A). In Bynum v. Bandza (C.D. Ill. 2025), a jury found for the employee after the employer fired him for violating a call-in rule during his son's asthma attack. The court held: "it is a violation of the FMLA to require adherence to an employer's internal rules and procedures even in the midst of a medical emergency."

6. You were passed over for a promotion or raise

Your employer cannot use FMLA leave as a negative factor in any employment decision, including promotions, raises, and bonus eligibility. If you were on track for a promotion before your leave and the opportunity went to someone else after, that pattern is evidence. Courts look at whether similarly situated employees who did not take leave were treated differently.

7. Your employer discouraged you from taking leave

Discouragement counts as interference even if you ultimately took the leave. Under 29 C.F.R. 825.220(b), "interfering with the exercise of an employee's rights would include, for example, not only refusing to authorize FMLA leave, but discouraging an employee from using such leave." Comments like "are you sure you need all that time," threats about career consequences, or sharing your medical information to pressure you are all prohibited.