In a ruling that bolsters employers’ established FMLA leave notice requirements, the Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision granting summary judgment in favor of the employer and upheld a former employee’s discharge for failure to follow the call-in requirements of his employer’s attendance policy in White v. Dana Light Axle Manufacturing, LLC. The decision is assuring to employers who have established and adhere to FMLA leave policies that require employees follow specific procedures to notify their employers of their intent to take protected FMLA leave.
Relying upon 29 CFR §825.302(d), the Court held that an employer may enforce its usual and customary notice and procedural requirements against an employee claiming FMLA-protected leave, unless unusual circumstances justify the employee’s failure to comply with the employer’s requirements.
The Court rejected the former employee’s allegation that his employer interfered with his rights under the FMLA by imposing and enforcing its own internal notice requirements when those requirements went beyond the bare minimum that would generally be sufficient under the FMLA to constitute proper notice. It was undisputed that the employee failed to report to work or call in pursuant to the employer’s no-fault attendance policy, and failure to do so was a basis for denying an employee’s taking FMLA protected leave. The former employee produced no evidence demonstrating any type of “unusual circumstances” that would have justified his failure to follow the call-in requirements of his employer’s attendance policy. And there was also no evidence that the employer waived these requirements for him.
Notably, former Sixth Circuit precedent did not permit employers to limit an employee’s FMLA rights if an employee failed to comply with procedure requirements more stringent than the statute. However, this Court ruled that the 2003 decision of Cavin v Honda of America Manufacturing, Inc was abrogated due to the material revisions to 29 CFR §825.302(d). These revisions expressly allow an employer to condition FMLA-protected leave upon that employee’s compliance with the employer’s usual notice and procedural requirements, absent unusual circumstances.
Topics/Tags
Select- Labor & Employment Law
- Pregnancy Discrimination
- Coronavirus
- Labor Law
- Employment Law
- Wage & Hour
- Privacy
- National Labor Relations Board
- Department of Labor
- Reasonable Accommodation
- Workplace Accommodations
- NLRB
- FMLA
- Employment Litigation
- Medical Marijuana
- Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation
- Arbitration
- Religion Discrimination
- Workplace Violence
- Discrimination
- Medical Cannabis Dispensaries
- IRS
- Litigation
- Whistleblower
- Disability Discrimination
- Social Media
- Employer Policies
- Americans with Disabilities Act
- United States Supreme Court
- Federal Trade Commission
- Retirement
- Race Discrimination
- OSHA
- Sexual Orientation Discrimination
- National Labor Relations Act
- Accommodation
- ERISA
- Employer Handbook
- EEOC
- ADAAA
- ACA
- Affordable Car Act
- Unions
- Title VII
- Employer Rules
- Sexual Harassment
- Technology
- Federal Arbitration Act
- NLRA
- Transgender Issues
- 401(k)
- Disability
- Employment Settlement Agreements
- Sixth Circuit
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- Fair Labor Standards Act
- Paycheck Protection Program
- Securities Law
- Benefits
- Class Action Litigation
- Gender Identity Discrimination
- Posting Requirements
- Disability Law
- Preventive Care Benefits
- Health Savings Account
- E-Discovery
- Evidence
- SECURE Act
- US Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration
- Family and Medical Leave Act
- Environmental Law
- Privacy Laws
- Overtime Pay
- Representative Election Regulations
- Department of Justice
- Healthcare Reform
- Older Workers' Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA)
- Affirmative Action
- Electronically Stored Information
- Equal Opportunity Clause
- Telecommuting
- Compensable Time
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration
- Security Screening
- Supreme Court
- E-Discovery Case Law
- Electronic Data Discovery
- ESI
- Attendance Policy
- Return to Work
- Seniority Rights
- Unemployment Insurance Integrity Act
- American Medical Association
- Classification
- Confidentiality
- Equal Pay
- Fair Minimum Wage
- Federal Minimum Wage
- Genetic Information Discrimination
- Media Policy
- Misclassification
- National Origin Discrimination
- Retaliation
- State Minimum Wage
- Wage Increase
- Disability Leave
- Social Media Content
- Taxation
- Antitrust
- Employment Incentives
- HIRE Act
- Social Security Tax
Recent Posts
- EEOC Announces Final Rule Providing Guidelines under the PWFA
- The Practical Employment Law Podcast: Immediate Termination
- The Practical Employment Law Podcast: Labor & Employment Law Update February 2024
- The Practical Employment Law Podcast: Telephone Game
- The Practical Employment Law Podcast: Labor & Employment Law Update January 2024
- The Practical Employment Law Podcast: Employment Law Issues to Watch in 2024
- Department of Labor Announces New Independent Contractor Rule to Go into Effect March 11, 2024
- The Practical Employment Law Podcast: The Employment Law Naughty & Nice List
- The Practical Employment Law Podcast: Reefer Madness
- The Practical Employment Law Podcast: The Office Romance Episode