Columbus-based American Family Life Assurance Co., known as Aflac, has agreed to pay a former employee $16,882 after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that the company violated the Family and Medical Leave Act by terminating an employee who took intermittent leave for a serious health condition.

“Workers’ jobs should be protected while they are dealing with serious medical problems,” said Janet Campbell, director of the Wage and Hour Division’s Atlanta District Office. “The Labor Department is committed to protecting the rights of employees eligible under the FMLA to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave each year.”

Aflac failed to classify the leave as FMLA-protected because, the company claimed, the employee had failed to timely submit requested documents. However, the Wage and Hour Division investigation revealed that the documents had been submitted in a timely manner.

Under the agreement, Aflac agreed to maintain future compliance with the FMLA by properly classifying employees’ FMLA-qualified leave.

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.