A fired forklift operator has sued the parent firm of his former employer, Llano Logistics, for violating the US Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993.

Gabriel Cruz took time off work in early January to treat a medical condition and alleges in a US District Court law suit that Llano Logistics in Lubbock terminated him as a result.

The suit says Llano Logistics violated FMLA's section 2615 "by interfering with, restraining and/or denying plaintiff the opportunity" to take a medical leave and "wrongfully discriminated and retaliated against the plaintiff . . . by terminating his employment after he had taken medical leave".

An employer must provide an eligible employee with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year, according to the US Department of Labor.

Llano Logistics' parent firm, TBGNA GP LLC, is affiliated with Tibbett & Britten Group plc of Enfield, England, a major logistics company that employs more than 30,000 people in 25 countries and offers warehousing, distribution and logistical support services through more than 400 warehousing facilities.

The Lubbock law firm of Johnston & Miller is representing Cruz in the litigation which was filed on 23 April in the Lubbock division of the court for the northern district of Texas.