It is well established that the FMLA does not require an employer to reduce its performance expectations for an employee who is taking leave intermittently or on a reduced schedule. Additionally, during the time the employee is at work, the employee must be capable of continuing to perform the essential functions of the job. However,
Enhanced FMLA Fitness-for-Duty Certification Provides Comfort to Employers
By Ellison F. McCoy on
An employee’s return to work following an extended FMLA leave for a serious health condition of the employee often creates concerns on the part of the employer. In these situations, employers frequently question whether the employee is really able to perform the essential functions of the job and whether returning the employee to work may…
Court Punts on Expanding FMLA Coverage to Absences Not Covered by FMLA
By Jackson Lewis P.C. on
Posted in FMLA
"Approved." Due to an email containing that single word, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals found itself addressing an FMLA issue that is somewhat of a paradox–whether to expand FMLA coverage to absences not covered by the FMLA…when an employer has approved FMLA leave for the uncovered absence. Put in a legal framework, the issue…
Who Cares? The Mom of an Adult Daughter with a Brain Aneurysm Cares
By Jackson Lewis P.C. on
Posted in FMLA
In FMLA "caring for" cases, there is usually no dispute that the cared-for relative has a serious health condition. We have posted here, here and here about such cases.
But in Mezu v. Morgan State University, (D.Md July 29, 2013), that was precisely the issue. The plaintiff claimed her employer interfered with her…
No FMLA Interference Where Employee Failed to Follow His Employer’s Customary Notice and Procedural Requirements
By Jackson Lewis P.C. on
Posted in FMLA
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…
Administering FMLA Leave in the Wake of Windsor
By Jackson Lewis P.C. on
Posted in FMLA
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…
Funeral Fraud Dooms Novelist’s FMLA Retaliation Claim
By Jackson Lewis P.C. on
Posted in FMLA
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…
DOMA Case Broadens FMLA Definition of “Spouse”….At Least to Some Extent
By Jackson Lewis P.C. on
Posted in FMLA
The Supreme Court’s Defense of Marriage Act decision expands employer obligations under the FMLA, at least in the states that recognize same-sex marriages. The Court held that Section 3 of DOMA, which states that the meaning of “spouse” in any federal law or regulation “refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is…
“Can’t Be On Call Tonight, Dad’s in ER” Not a Request for FMLA Leave
By Jackson Lewis P.C. on
Posted in FMLA
An employee’s text message to her supervisor telling him that she could not be on call that night because her father was in the emergency room was not a request for FMLA leave. Lanier v. Univ. of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (5th Cir. June 12, 2013). Affirming summary judgment for the employer, the court said…
“I am Resigning” is Not a Request for FMLA Leave
By Jackson Lewis P.C. on
Posted in FMLA
Is a resignation a request for FMLA leave? Of course not most would say, but it depends on whether you ascribe to words their plain meanings. One of the more well-known exchanges concerning the meaning of words occurred between Humpty Dumpty and Alice in "Through the Looking Glass."
“When I use a word…‘it means just…