The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday granted an application by the State of Nevada for review of a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, upholding the applicability of the Family Medical Leave Act to states and state agencies in their capacity as employers. The case stems from the alleged illegal firing in 1997 of a Nevada Department of Human Resources employee for exercising his right to take 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the FMLA to take care of his seriously ill wife. Nevada state officials have pursued a states? rights defense, arguing that the sovereign immunity granted to states under the Eleventh Amendment protects Nevada from being sued for violation of the FMLA.
See "Justices to Rule on Family Leaves", DAVID G. SAVAGE, Los Angeles Times, June 24, 2002