The Essential Guide to Family & Medical Leave

214 | the essential guide to family and medical leave
Tip
If the employee’s position has changed substantially due to company
restructuring, different rules apply. See “When Reinstatement Might Not
Be Required,” below, to find out what your obligations are.
An equivalent position is one with equivalent pay, benefits, and other
terms and conditions of employment to the employee’s former job. Here are
some of the things courts will look at when determining whether a position
is equivalent to the employee’s old job:
• Pay. An employee is entitled to receive his or her former salary or
hourly compensation, as well as any opportunities to earn extra money
(through overtime, a shift differential, or bonuses based on performance,
for example) that were previously available. (For more information,
including how to handle bonuses and raises, see “Restoring Pay and
Benefits,” below.)
• Benefits. The equivalent position must offer the same benefits, at the
same levels, as the employee’s previous job. (For more information, see
“Restoring Pay and Benefits,” below.)
• Job duties and responsibilities. An employee is entitled to “substantially
similar” job duties and responsibilities. Minor alterations (such as a
change in the employee’s reporting structure or job title) are allowed,
but make sure the employee’s new position is just as desirable—and has
the same status in the company—as the employee’s former position. If
the new position looks like a demotion, the company could find itself in
legal trouble.
• Shift and schedule. Ordinarily, an employee is entitled to be returned to
the same shift and to the same or an equivalent schedule.
• Worksite. An employee must be reinstated to the same worksite or one
that is geographically proximate to the employee’s old worksite. A job
at a different worksite is not an equivalent position if it significantly
increases the employee’s commute in time, distance, or both.