Managers are normally the first line of communication with employees who request and take FMLA leave. And as a recent court case shows, careful communication is required to avoid costly lawsuits.
Here’s what happened:
An employee suffered a serious back injury. He requested two months of FMLA leave.
When he asked for time off, his manager allegedly warned him, “If you take that much leave, there will not be a job waiting for you when you get back.”
Nonetheless, he was allowed to take leave and was reinstated after two months.
Then, however, the employer underwent a company-wide reduction-in-force. The employee returning from FMLA had the lowest seniority in his department, so he was let go.
He sued, claiming he was laid off because of his FMLA leave. He pointing to the manager’s threat as his primary piece of evidence.
The court agreed with him and refused to dismiss the case.
In any other situation, the company may have escaped liability — after all, the employee was given leave, reinstated and chosen for the RIF based on objective, unrelated criteria. Normally, it wouldn’t have been hard to show the termination had nothing to do with his FMLA leave.
But in this case, the manager’s response to his initial request made all the difference for the judge.
Cite: Daugherty v. Sajar Plastics, Inc.
