Ozark Safety Services LLC – based in Montgomery, Alabama – has paid a former employee $10,095 in lost wages after a U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found the company violated the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

WHD investigators found Ozark Safety Services LLC discharged the employee for absences that qualified for FMLA-protected leave. Rather than categorizing the absences as allowed and covered under the FMLA, the company labeled them as unauthorized, and took improper disciplinary action.

"The Family and Medical Leave Act allows for critically needed workplace flexibility precisely when employees need it the most," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Kenneth Stripling, in Birmingham. "This investigation ensures that this employee is not prevented from exercising FMLA rights. We encourage employers to contact us for guidance so they can avoid violations."