What You Don't Know Can Get You Sued

Executives and managers could be at risk of personal financial ruin, to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars, from employee lawsuits if they violate the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act. Some might think they are protected from personal suits and their agency is the proper party to file a

Unlike more familiar anti-discrimination laws, the Family and Medical Leave Act allows certain employees to sue individual executives and managers for errant leave decisions, in addition to suing the agency. Moreover, executives and managers are unlikely to avoid financial ruin because they were unaware of their FMLA responsibilities. On the contrary, lack of knowledge of the law's requirements could result in an award of double damages for a so-called willful violation.

While all federal employees are covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act, their rights and remedies can differ substantially, depending on which of the law's four federal-sector provisions applies. Two provisions each cover White House and congressional employees. Civil servants are protected by another provision, and U.S. Postal Service and other noncivil servant employees (e.g., part-time, temporary and other special categories) are covered by the fourth.