While leave of absence laws vary from state to state, there are a number of federally mandated laws that protect employees who must take an extended period of time off from work.Under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), employers must offer unpaid leave time to employees with a qualifying family or individual medical situation, such as leave for the birth or adoption of a baby or leave to care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition. If qualified, employees are entitled to up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave time under the FMLA without fear of jeopardizing their job status.The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), on the other hand, guarantees certain protections to current and former uniformed service members who may need to be absent from civilian employment for a certain period of time in order to serve in the armed forces.Leave of absence can be unfairly denied in a number of ways, including:Firing a employee who took a leave of absence for the birth or adoption of their baby without just causeDemoting an employee who took a leave of absence to care for a dying parent without just causeFiring a re-employed service member who took a leave of absence to serve in the armed forces without just causeRetaliating against a current or former service member who took a leave of absence to serve in the armed forces