The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld the termination of an employee who sued, alleging FMLA interference and retaliation after termination for failure to contact his employer during a nine-day leave of absence to address a medical emergency involving his mother. In Righi v. SMC Corp. of America, a sales representative, while attending a mandatory training seminar, received word that his mother was experiencing a medical emergency. The employee left the training session and, despite informing a co-worker that he was leaving due to a family emergency, made no attempt to contact his supervisor. The next day, the employee sent his supervisor an e-mail stating that his mother, who was a diabetic, had slipped into a coma. After stating that he would need the next few days off to make arrangements for his mother’s care, he wrote: “I do have the vacation time, or I could apply for the Family Care Act, which I do not want to do at this time.” Upon receiving the e-mail, the supervisor repeatedly attempted without success to contact the employee by phone to inquire further about his need for leave.
Finally, after nine days of silence, the employee called his supervisor and was terminated the next day for violation of the employer’s leave policy, which provided that an unapproved absence of two or more consecutive days was grounds for termination. After the district court granted summary judgment on the employee’s claims of FMLA interference and retaliation, the employee appealed. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that the employee’s e-mail, in which he mentioned that his mother was in a diabetic coma, was sufficient to alert the employer that the employee might qualify for FMLA leave, and that the employer was obligated at that point to make further inquiry regarding the employee’s need for FMLA leave. The Court also found that the employer properly attempted to fulfill its obligation by making numerous calls to the employee and that the employee’s failure to respond to his employer’s calls caused his FMLA claims to fail. The employee was required under both the FMLA and his employer’s written policy, to contact his employer to let the employer know of the likely duration of his requested leave, which he failed to do.
Article courtesy of Worklaw® Network firm Shawe Rosenthal.
