Frustrated with a Leave Request? What You Say May Cost You.
October 14, 2015
Last week, we discussed what could happen when your employee denies the opportunity to take FMLA leave. This week, another case demonstrates the importance of communications from managers and supervisors when it relates to the FMLA.
In Hefti v. Brunk Industries, Inc., (E.D. Wis. 2015), James Hefti was disciplined and eventually terminated for his ongoing inappropriate and unprofessional communications with his coworkers.
Shortly before he was fired, Hefti requested intermittent FMLA leave to pick-up and drop off his son, who had a medical condition, at school. His department manager responded to the request by telling Hefti that the company paid his insurance and expected him to be at work. Hefti also later testified that when his manager handed him the FMLA paperwork he seemed to be “frustrated and aggravated.” Hefti was terminated about two weeks after he requested FMLA leave.
Despite the employer’s claims that Hefti had a long history of inappropriate conduct leading up to his termination (a small sample of examples from the employer include Hefti emailing a coworker telling him “you’re my b****,” introducing his wife to his coworker as “This is my b****,” and berating coworkers for various reasons) and that Hefti’s communications caused problems with his coworkers and supervisors for about a year and a half, Hefti received a rating of 3 ½ out of 5 overall - and 4 out of 5 in workplace behavior - on the performance review he received in March 2013 (about two months before he was terminated).
Following his termination, Hefti filed suit claiming he was terminated because he requested FMLA leave. In deciding if the case should go to trial, the court focused on whether there was any causal connection between Hefti’s request for FMLA leave and his termination. The court considered the timing between the FMLA request and the termination, and while the court noted that suspicious timing alone may not be enough to carry the day, the fact that Hefti testified that his supervisor made the comment about the company paying for his insurance and about Hefti needing to therefore be at work was enough to suggest a causal link between the FMLA request and the termination.
In addition, the court noted that if Hefti was already on his way to being terminated, then his leave request should not have mattered and should have served as a welcome respite from what it claimed to be a belligerent employee. The high rating for work behavior on Hefti’s review also contributed to the court’s decision.
What does this case show? Relative to the FMLA, it cautions employers to be aware of what they say to employees in the context of any leave request. While Hefti’s employer was understandably frustrated with his conduct, the place to express that frustration was not during a request for FMLA leave. Moreover, employers should remember that FMLA leave is an entitlement - if an employee qualifies for the leave he or she gets it. Performance, personality, and other similar factors have no bearing.
This case, along with the case discussed last week, underscores to employers how important clear communication is in each step of the FMLA process. Employers - or perhaps more accurately, supervisors and managers - who ignore these lessons do so at their own peril.
