Emergency Leave

They should provided he informs them of why he needs the time. A driver can leave and as long as they come back within 6 months there's no issues. After the time off he'll come back, go for a short test drive with a safety guy and they'll give him a different truck.

 

If they like him, they will find the way of keeping his position. If hes just another Driver, NO!

 

FMLA - Family Medical Leave Act. It's a federal law. He just needs to file the right paperwork and get in touch with the right people.

 

The FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave. Eligible employees are entitled to:

Twelve workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for:
the birth of a child and to care for the newborn child within one year of birth;
the placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care and to care for the newly placed child within one year of placement;
to care for the employee’s spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition;
a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his or her job;
any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a covered military member on “covered active duty;” or

Twenty-six workweeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness if the eligible employee is the servicemember’s spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin (military caregiver leave).

Eligibility is based on two things. The employer has to have at least 50 employees, and the employee has to have worked there 12 months or 1250 hours.

 

The driver in this case is not eligible for this act due to the length of the employment.

 

That's unfortunate. In certain cases though, I'm sure if you speak to the right people, exceptions will be made.

 

Doubt it in the case of the trucking industry though.

 

He doesn't qualify for FMLA. More than likely he will have to quit and get rehired. Most companies will only hold a position for 90 days after that he will have to reapply. Just make sure when he does leave he leaves on good terms and they will hire him again.

 

1250 hours / the typical 70 hour work week in this industry = roughly 18 weeks. Basically 4-5 months on the job and you'll meet the eligibility based upon the hours worked. Schneider definitely has more than 50 employees.

At the very least, your friend should talk to them and see what they have to say. If he's got a good work history with them, they'll more than likely have a position available for him...whether they allow him to KEEP his job & benefits under the FMLA or if they merely rehire him is going to be up to them, though....especially if he comes close but doesn't quite meet the eligibility requirements for the FMLA.