Take a look at this case and decide for yourself whether or not you think this employee should’ve been demoted.
A manager, who’d been disciplined in the past for her brash management style, took FMLA leave to have a baby.
While on leave, productivity and morale improved noticeably in her department. Her interim manager also discovered that she had ignored numerous expense reports and failed to pay invoices from outside creditors.
Result: When she returned, the company gave her the option of quitting or being demoted.
The employee accepted the demotion, then immediately turned around and sued the company. She claimed the company never would’ve discovered her deficiencies if she hadn’t taken FMLA leave. Therefore, according to her, the company demoted her because she took leave.
Who won?
The decision
The company countered that it would’ve taken disciplinary action against the employee no matter when it discovered her misconduct — and the court agreed.
It found no fault with the employer for demoting her.
Takeaway: An employer is permitted to discipline a worker on leave, as long as it can prove that it has substantial business reasons for doing so.
Cite: Schaaf v. SmithKline Beecham Corp.
