I'm trying to find out if my sister has any rights to get her job back.

She was gone on (unpaid) maternity leave. Her boss had told her she would get her job back afterwards, but now there is a new boss and she said she just hired 2 new employees so there is nothing open.

Do they have to give her the job back by law? She had only worked there 5 months before she went on maternity leave (not sure if it makes a difference). The employer is a big nationwide grocery store. State is Florida.

Your sister is not eligible for the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protections because to be eligible for the FMLA protections you must have worked at the company for at least 12 months and 1,250 hours.

Unless she has a signed written document saying that her job will be held than she has no legal recourse against the company.

Shirley

Employers are holding all the cards these days and can essentially say and do whatever they wish when it comes to promising employees maternity leave when they have not been on the job long enough to legally qualify. I am surprised that they did not lay her off instead of essentially firing her.

A recent employer of mine did the same thing to a worker when she tried to come back after having her baby. They laid her off. At least she could collect unemployment insurance. Your sister might want to pursue an unemployment claim against this employer.