Everyone says just take the time off, hand in the doctor note, and keep your head down, but actually that can cost you wages, health coverage, or even your job if your leave rights are not handled correctly. After a crash on a rural two-lane road, a fall on private property, or another serious injury, this issue can affect whether missed work is protected and whether a termination becomes part of the case.

Technically, FMLA interference happens when an employer denies, restrains, or discourages an employee from using rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act. That can include refusing eligible leave, counting protected absences under attendance rules, failing to restore the employee to the same or an equivalent job, demanding more medical paperwork than the law allows, or pressuring someone not to take leave. It is different from retaliation, which focuses on punishment for using leave.

This matters because a lost job or lost benefits can become a major part of the financial damage after an injury. FMLA applies only if the worker is eligible: generally 12 months of employment, 1,250 hours worked in the past year, and an employer with at least 50 employees within 75 miles. In New Hampshire, if the injury also happened at work, separate protections may apply under workers' compensation law, including anti-discrimination rules enforced through the New Hampshire Department of Labor.