Pay Increases Subsequent to FMLA Leave: The Role of Organizational Justice

Research indicates the importance of studying organizational justice and its impact. Further, research has indicated a relationship between perceptions of organizational justice and pay increase decisions. However, the present research is the first to incorporate the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave into the equation. In short, this research addressed whether an employee\u27s absence for FMLA-covered reasons impacts the perceived justice of subsequent pay increases for that employee. Specifically, it was hypothesized that the employee\u27s length of absence, tenure, performance, and/or pay increase would impact justice perceptions. Participants evaluated vignettes manipulating these factors, then rated the fairness of pay increase decisions. Results revealed that the employee\u27s performance interacted with the amount of pay increase to account for the largest amount of variance injustice perceptions. However, a main effect for pay increase, an interaction between performance and the length of the employee\u27s leave, and an interaction between performance, tenure, the length of the employee\u27s leave, and the pay increase decision were observed. Finally, among employees who received a full pay increase, performance was the strongest predictor of justice perceptions