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Democrats urge high court to uphold state workers' right to sue over medical leave
Two high-ranking Democrats involved in the drafting of the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act are urging the Supreme Court not to strike down state workers' ability to sue under the law.
The high court heard oral arguments Wednesday in a case brought by a former Maryland state court worker who said he was fired in 2007 after taking 10 days off to treat hypertension and diabetes. The law requires certain employers to allow workers to take up to 12 unpaid weeks off per year to deal for qualified medical and family issues.
The fired man sued for damages, but a lower court tossed out his complaint. Maryland and 26 other states say he should never have been able to sue for damages in the first place, however.
Harkin signed onto an amicus brief in the case earlier this year, along with Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) and other lawmakers. The brief argues that Congress intended the entire act to apply to state employees, that its provisions were within the power of Congress and that all workers should have the ability to enforce their rights in court.
"If denied the law's protection, countless workers would be put in the impossible position of choosing between keeping their jobs or dealing with a serious health condition. Americans shouldn’t have to make that choice," Miller, the top Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, said in a statement Wednesday. "Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act after carefully considering decades of evidence of discrimination by both private and governmental employers against men and women with serious health conditions or with sick family members. The Court has already upheld Congress' authority to provide protections for these workers and should do so again."
