Employee’s Need for time off for Medical Reasons does not Protect her from Termination

May 9, 2013 by Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

The Seventh Circuit Court of appeals recently affirmed summary judgment for the employer on an employee's ADA and FMLA claims. In this case, the employee was terminated after she was absent many times due to symptoms (and the ultimate diagnosis) of multiple sclerosis. She was unable to adhere to the company's attendance guidelines, was not eligible for leave, and could not perform the essential functions of her job (e.g., attendance) even with reasonable accommodation.  More ›

“Insomnia” Insufficient Basis for ADA and FMLA Claims

April 29, 2013 by Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

In this case, the attorney claimed that her employer's denial of her reduced-work-schedule request constituted both an unlawful failure-to-accommodate under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and unlawful interference with her right to take leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).   More ›

Court Finds that Employer’s Failure to Return Employee to work Prior to Conclusion of FMLA Leave does not Amount to Interference

March 5, 2013 by Linda K. Horras

In this case, a hotel maintenance employee who had worked for the employer for over 20 years had a history of vision problems. His employer regularly accommodated these problems by ensuring that the employee’s schedule and assignments were copied in large print. Later, the employee suffered an injury, which required him to take leave. The hotel provided him with required information under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and approved 12 weeks of leave. More ›

Employees Cannot give Constructive Notice of need for FMLA Leave in the Eighth Circuit

March 4, 2013 by Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

This suit arose when an employee at a food production company missed a month of work due to depression. She ultimately lost her job for failing to comply with the company’s call-in procedure, which treated three consecutive absences without calling in as a voluntary termination of employment. The termination was executed despite the fact that the employee had intermittently taken leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and that a coworker would notify the employee’s supervisor when she was “sick.” The employee filed FMLA entitlement (interference) and retaliation claims against the employer. More ›

Employee’s Utter Lack of Evidence Leads to Dismissal of All Claims

January 9, 2013 by Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

MSJs certainly aren't granted as much as they used to be, particularly in the employment context. In this case, however, the employee's failure to produce more than a scintilla of evidence in support of her claims led to a successful MSJ for the individual and entity employer defendants. More ›

Employer Successfully Defends Termination of Employee at Conclusion of FMLA Leave

December 11, 2012 by Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that an employer did not violate the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) by terminating an employee who failed to return to work after exhausting her leave. More ›

Employee’s Facebook Pictures Reflecting Conduct Inconsistent with FMLA Leave Supports Employer’s Termination Decision

November 15, 2012 by Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

Recently, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that an employer did not retaliate against an employee who had taken intermittent leave nor did it interfere with her rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) when it fired the employee for fraud. More ›

Employer did not Discriminate or Retaliate Against Disabled Employee who was Unable to Perform In-Person Supervision Tasks

September 24, 2012 by Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

A supervisor of released adult offenders suffered from sacroiliac joint dysfunction, a condition causing pain in the joints that limited her ability to walk and forced her to work from home. After surgery, she made a full return to work, but roughly a year and a half later she fell down stairs at work and the symptoms of her condition returned. She had a second surgery and took leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to recover. She was terminated after her FMLA leave expired. More ›

Rotational Employee Unsuccessful on FMLA Interference Claim Based upon Leave Calculations

August 29, 2012 by Linda K. Horras

Where employees do not work traditional work schedules, calculating leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) can be tricky.   More ›

Employer’s “Honest Suspicion” of Misuse of FMLA Leave Defeats FMLA Interference and Retaliation Claims

August 7, 2012 by Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

It's not uncommon for employers to suspect employees of misusing paid or protected leaves of absence. It is, however, quite uncommon that such misuse can actually be proven and ultimately serve as a defense for an employer in a subsequent lawsuit. Yet that's precisely what happened in Scruggs v. Carrier Corporation. More ›

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