According to the United States department of labor, the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 states that eligible employees may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for specified family and medical reasons. According to the Act, the employers covered are public agencies, including state, local and federal employers, local education agencies (schools), and private-sector employers who employed 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year and who are engaged in commerce or in any industry or activity affecting commerce.
On the other hand, the employees covered must be: working for a covered employer; have worked for the employer for a total of 12 months; have worked at least 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months; and work at a location in the United States or in any territory or possession of the United States, where at least 50 employees are employed by the employer within 75 miles. The reasons for the leave could be: for the birth and care of the newborn child of the employee; for placement with the employee of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care; to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition.
In this situation, employee A is eligible to be covered by the provisions of the Act and his reason for the leave was valid, i.e., for the care of his newborn kid and be with his spouse after the premature birth. In line with the provisions of the Act, he has been allowed back to work, but the employee has no right to request the withheld salary. This is because the Act states that the leave is unpaid. Therefore, no violation of the Act has occurred in this situation. On the same note, the employee’s use of FMLA leave should not result in loss of any employment benefit that he earned or was entitled to before using FMLA leave, thus these are what he could ask for but not the salary.