Compliance Blog
    

"Simple" FMLA Rule Leaves Employer Simply Confused

Texas Judge Finds Days between Rehab Stays May Qualify as FMLA Leave

According to Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) regulations, "FMLA leave may only be taken for treatment for substance abuse... On the other hand, absence because of the employee's use of the substance, rather than for treatment, does not qualify for FMLA leave."

While this rule seems clear in theory, a recent case demonstrated that it's not so clear in real life. The case involved an employee who used FMLA leave to enter rehab once for initial treatment and two more times due to relapses. The question was whether the periods between rehab stays were covered under the FMLA.

John Crane, Inc. (JCI) answered "no" and fired the employee for excessive absences for the work days missed between time spent in rehab. But a federal judge in Texas found that it wasn't so simple and held that the employee's FMLA and Americans with Disabilities (ADA) claims deserved a jury trial.
 
Where did JCI go wrong? The judge found four key issues:
 
  1. JCI should not have assumed that only the days the employee spent in rehab were FMLA-protected, because some of the days between rehab stays may have also been protected;
  2. JCI gave the employee reason to believe that he had been approved for FMLA leave for a period of twelve consecutive weeks but fired him for absences occurring within that time;
  3. JCI failed to warn the employee of the consequences of not furnishing adequate medical certification of his serious health condition; and
  4. The employee's request for medical leave to go into rehab may have constituted a request for a reasonable accommodation for a disability under the ADA.  
As this case demonstrates, the FMLA and ADA are minefields for unwary employers. All employers should review their policies regularly and ensure that their HR personnel are up to speed on these laws that are anything but simple. 
Posted by Ken Grosserode on April 18, 2011

Ken Grosserode, a Managing Legal Editor at WeComply, writes and edits the content for e-learning courseware and related compliance training resources. Earlier in his career, Ken worked for the U.S. Department of Justice after being accepted into the Attorney General's Honors Program. He later practiced law as an associate attorney at Berry, Appleman & Leiden LLP in San Francisco. Ken holds a J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law.
Categories: Workplace Compliance
Tags: FMLA, ADA

ACC Alliance PartnerProskauerWhite & Case