File this in your “Don’t Do This When Conducting a RIF” folder. As highlighted by the folks at the Atlanta Employment Lawyer Blog, employers should be wary of eliminating the position of an employee who announces days earlier that he will need several weeks off for surgery. When the evidence shows that this employee
Life After Wal-Mart v. Dukes: Is the FMLA the New Breeding Ground for Class Actions?
For several weeks now, attorneys and legal academics across the country have dissected the U.S. Supreme Court’s Wal-Mart v. Dukes (pdf) decision, which shut the door to a 1.5 million class of current and former female Wal-Mart employees who are claiming that they were denied pay increases and promotions because of their gender. In striking
U.S. Supreme Court to Decide Whether States Are Immune from Certain FMLA Claims
On June 27, 2011, the United States Supreme Court agreed to review an FMLA case in which the Court will decide whether a State can be sued under the Family and Medical Leave Act where the employee is seeking leave due to his or her own serious health condition. In lawyer-speak, the question specifically involves
Cat’s Paw Already Impacting FMLA Claims
Last month, the Supreme Court ruled in Staub v. Proctor Hospital(pdf) that an employer in an employment discrimination case can be liable for the discriminatory animus of an employee who influences, but does not make, the ultimate employment decision at issue. Known as the “cat’s paw” theory, it already is having an impact on
Employee’s Failure to Return Supervisor’s Phone Calls Dooms FMLA Claim
When an employee’s request for medical leave is vague or is unclear, the Family and Medical Leave Act regulations specifically allow (in fact, they require) the employer to question the employee further to determine whether the absence potentially qualifies under the FMLA. When the employee fails to respond to these reasonable inquiries, the employee may lose the right to FMLA protection.
Such was the case for Robert Righi. In a fantastic opinion for employers, a federal appellate court recently upheld the dismissal of Mr. Righi’s FMLA claim because he failed to respond to his supervisor’s telephone calls inquiring about his need for a leave of absence. Righi v. SMC Corporation of America
The Facts
Righi, a salesman for SMC Corp., was the primary caretaker for his mother, who regularly suffered complications from diabetes. As a result, Righi often took FMLA leave to care for her. On the occasion at issue, however, he asked for time off after his mother accidentally overdosed on her medication. Continue Reading Employee’s Failure to Return Supervisor’s Phone Calls Dooms FMLA Claim
Summary of 2010 FMLA Cases Provides Valuable Resource to Employers and Employment Attorneys
Every February, the American Bar Association’s Federal Labor Standards Legislation Committee publishes a comprehensive report of significant FMLA decisions handed down by the federal courts in the previous year. This year’s report is fabulous — it summarizes 2010 FMLA decisions in a user-friendly manner and is a great reference for me throughout the year.
The report
Mishandling FMLA Leave for Alcohol Treatment Causes Employer to Fall Off the Wagon
An employee enrolled in an addiction treatment program need not be under a doctor’s care or actually staying at a rehab institution to qualify for FMLA leave, according to a federal court in Texas. Picarazzi v. John Crane, Inc.
The Facts
Plaintiff Perry Picarazzi, a customer service representative for John Crane, Inc.(JCI), had a
6th Circuit: Employee Can Proceed With FMLA Claim Despite “Negative Certification”
When an employee remains absent even after her doctor provides a medical certification confirming that she can return to work, it might seem reasonable for an employer to deny the employee any further FMLA leave and, if the employee fails to return, to terminate her employment. However, if the employer has not specifically informed the
Cleaning Up Mom’s Flooded Basement Not Protected by FMLA
For employers, it pays to listen closely to the reason for which an employee requests time off, since the reason may not always be covered by the FMLA. Kind of like occasions when the employee tells you he needs time off to clean his mother’s flooded basement.
Take Joe Lane, a medical technologist for Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital. Joe, who lived with his mother, sought and was granted FMLA intermittent FMLA leave for six months to care for his mom, who suffered from diabetes, high blood pressure, weight loss and arthritis. He needed leave from time to time to provide her food and transport her to doctors’ appointments, which he did without issue for the next four months.
For Joe, when it rains, it pours. Literally. Right into his mother’s basement. Joe was absent for four consecutive days and, in violation of the Hospital’s personnel policies, he failed to call in his absences. Thereafter, he informed the Hospital that he would need additional time off to clean up flooding in his mom’s basement. He claimed that the “flood cleaning days” should be excused because his mother had hepatitis and the stagnant water was a “breeding ground” for the disease. The Hospital disagreed and fired him.
At that moment, Joe’s FMLA claims went down the drain.Continue Reading Cleaning Up Mom’s Flooded Basement Not Protected by FMLA
Appeals Court Rejects Claim For Long-Term Intermittent Leave
Managing long-term intermittent leave has long been one of the central problems for employers administering FMLA leave. Particularly problematic is the employee who presents a certification suggesting that he or she will need unscheduled leave with little or no notice to the employer over a period of months or years based upon self-diagnosed, unverifiable symptoms