Atlanta Employment Attorneys Blog
Family and Medical Leave Act cases can be complex and nuanced matters. Even issues that might seem black-and-white can actually be filled with gray areas. If you have questions about an FMLA issue, ensure you are proceeding with knowledgeable advice from a skilled Atlanta FMLA lawyer.
An FMLA interference case from outside Georgia illustrates one such area: the FMLA medical certification.
The employee in this case, D.D., became ill while employed at a state-run assisted living center. A visit to an urgent care clinic revealed that she was pregnant and her symptoms were morning sickness.
The woman eventually missed several days of work in May 2017 due to her morning sickness. Her employer provided her with an FMLA packet, which included a medical certification form for her doctor to complete. D.D.’s obstetrician completed the certification form. The completed form said that D.D.’s pregnancy was high-risk (she had lupus) and that she would need time off from work to attend multiple medical appointments, as well as additional time off following the baby’s delivery.
One of the form’s questions asked “Will the condition cause episodic flare-ups periodically preventing the employee from performing his/her job functions?” The obstetrician answered “no” to this question. Based on this certification, the employer approved periodic FMLA leave for D.D.’s medical appointments and continuous leave for post-birth recovery. Conspicuously, the approval did not mention morning sickness.
The woman continued to miss work due to morning sickness. On one occasion, she left work four hours early due to morning sickness. The employer ultimately deemed the absence unauthorized and terminated her.
D.D. sued for FMLA interference. The employer argued in court that it could not be liable for an FMLA violation because it relied solely on the employee’s certification form (which stated that D.D. would not need leave for “flare-ups”) when it concluded that morning-sickness-related absences were not covered under the auspices of D.D.’s FMLA leave.
The trial court ruled in favor of the employer, but the Court of Appeals disagreed. The court began by noting that, to have a successful interference claim, D..D. needed to demonstrate that: “(1) she was eligible for FMLA protections; (2) [her employer] was covered by the FMLA; (3) she was entitled to take leave under the FMLA; (4) she provided sufficient notice of her intent to take leave; and (5) [the employer] denied her FMLA benefits to which she was entitled.
The employer argued that, based on the certification form, D.D. could not possibly satisfy the third element. The court rejected this argument because it rejected the employer’s underlying premise, namely, that bouts of morning sickness were mere “flare-ups” of pregnancy. As the court stated, “it is difficult to see how [the employer] could consider morning sickness to be a ‘flare-up’ of [D.D.]’s pregnancy when the FMLA regulations expressly define morning sickness itself to be a ‘serious health condition involving continuing treatment by a health care provider.’”
‘Not Strictly Bound by the Precise Parameters’ of the Medical Certification
In D.D.’s case, the employer was “well-aware” of the woman’s need to take intermittent leave due to morning sickness when it approved her FMLA request. Of critical importance, the court explicitly stated that, “in such cases, we have recognized that an employee’s entitlement to FMLA leave is not strictly bound by the precise parameters laid out in the medical certification.”
In short, an employer may not rely on an ultra-strict interpretation of a medical certification when it already had actual knowledge of the employee’s need to take leave. As the court laid out, “a reasonable jury could find that [the employer] knew that [D.D.] would need intermittent leave for morning sickness as a result of her pregnancy when it approved the leave,” and that firing her for a morning sickness-induced absence was FMLA interference.
Have questions about the FMLA or possible legal claims of FMLA interference or FMLA retaliation? Give the experienced Atlanta FMLA attorneys at the law firm of Parks, Chesin & Walbert a call. Our team has extensive experience handling the full spectrum of FMLA issues, so we can provide you with the reliable advice you need. Contact us through this website or at 404-873-8048 to schedule a consultation today.