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An employee who did not follow his employer’s call-in requirements under its attendance policy or provide an appropriate medical certification supporting his need for leave under the FMLA has failed to establish a claim for interference with his FMLA rights, according to the Sixth Circuit. Srouder, et al. v. Dana Light Axle Mfg, LLC,, (6th…

An employee who twice failed to complete a substance abuse treatment program was not protected by either the ADA or FMLA, according to the Fifth Circuit. Shirley v. Precision Castparts et al (5th Cir. August 12, 2013).  The employer terminated the employee for leaving a treatment program prior to being properly discharged, as required by…

Minnesota has amended its Minnesota Parenting Leave Act to give employees the right to use sick leave for an expanded group of family members in addition to the employee’s child. Effective August 1, 2013, an employee may use personal sick leave benefits for absences due to an illness of or injury to the employee’s “adult…

A lab worker with health problems as a result of her work with a solvent submitted the following request for an accommodation: “Avoid any type of work where she would have exposure to organic solvents. Transfer to another line of work. Avoidance of irritants.”

The employer denied the request but offered the plaintiff a full…

Appellate courts in two neighboring states—Kentucky and West Virginia—have reached different conclusions on whether obesity is a disability.

In the Kentucky case, the plaintiff, who was approximately five feet four inches in height and weighed four hundred twenty-five pounds, claimed that her employer had unlawfully discriminated against her due to her morbid obesity in violation…

The Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. v. Windsor adds to employer obligations under the FMLA by expanding the group of individuals who may be a “spouse” for FMLA purposes.  At issue in Windsor was whether Section 3 of DOMA violated the Fifth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause as applied to the Federal Government.  Section 3 of…

A terminated sheriff’s failure to refute a psychologist’s claim that he had lingering psychological deficits from a stroke that would interfere with his ability to perform his job led the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals to affirm summary judgment for the County on the sheriff’s ADA claims. 

The sheriff’s doctor had cleared him to return…

Relying on the employer’s “honest belief” that the plaintiff had engaged in fraudulent conduct, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the FMLA retaliation claim of an employee who had requested leave to attend the funeral of her granddaughter, when it was actually her step-granddaughter who had died. The collective bargaining agreement governing the plaintiff’s…

The Supreme Court held this week that a plaintiff bringing a retaliation claim under Title VII must establish that the adverse employment action would not have occurred “but-for” an improper motive on the employer’s part, rejecting the lesser “motivating factor” standard.  University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar, (USSupCt,  June 24, 2013.  This…