What your managers don’t know can hurt you
Sometimes, in informal conversation, people tell me about their work-related issues, particularly about leave. It seems there’s an uptick in managers not recognizing employee rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), including asking them to work more than they should per a medical certification. Perhaps the current lack of employees is behind this. FMLA missteps like that, however, can put the entire company at risk of a costly court claim, as one employer learned.
Employee’s limited hours
Rhonda was diagnosed with a condition that caused chronic fatigue. As a result, she asked that she not be scheduled to work more than eight hours per day five days per week, for a total of no more than 40 hours per week. She provided a requested FMLA certification supporting her need for such a schedule, which was approved.
Gertrude, Rhonda’s manager, however, gave Rhonda a document indicating that her schedule would be a minimum of 40 hours, 8 hours per day at 5 days per week, and any violations would be subject to a performance review. The document listed time ranges on some dates that exceeded eight hours per day. Rhonda asked about being scheduled for too many hours under her approved FMLA. Gertrude took her to the HR director, who also indicated that Rhonda had to work the hours listed or face potential discipline.
As a result, Rhonda tried to work her assigned hours, even beyond eight hours per day. One day, however, she asked to leave after eight hours due to her condition. She was told that she could not leave; she had to stay. Rhonda, however, did leave. She didn’t go to work the following day; the day after that, she resigned.
Employee files claim
Rhonda then sued, claiming that the employer interfered with her FMLA rights. The employer argued that it did not deny her FMLA leave rights and, therefore, did not interfere with those rights.
The court indicated that interference isn’t limited to the denial of taking leave. Interference also encompasses using the taking of FMLA leave as a negative factor in employment actions and discouraging an employee from using such leave.
Requiring Rhonda to work more than eight hours that day could easily be seen as discouraging her from taking leave; therefore, the employer likely interfered with her FMLA rights. The case was allowed to advance
Let your managers know
Often, managers and supervisors are not trained about the basics of the FMLA, including:
- FMLA leave is an employee right;
- The FMLA is an employee entitlement law, and
- Employers that interfere with those rights can risk a claim.
Managers and supervisors, and even some HR directors are not always familiar with what interference can look like. In this case, the manager undermined the employee’s reduced schedule, resulting in the company having to spend resources defending its actions. A little training could have helped prevent losing an employee and going to court.
Hudak v. Brandy et al., Northern District of Indiana, No. 3:18-cv-932, October 27, 2020.
Key to remember: Make sure your managers and supervisors are familiar with what FMLA interference can look like. This might require some training, even if your managers and supervisors received training in the past.
