1st Circuit Court: FMLA Is Not A Tool Employees Can Use To Delay Termination

Most employers know they cannot retaliate against someone for requesting or using Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave. One way to defeat an FMLA retaliation claim is to provide evidence that the adverse employment decision was made, but not yet relayed to the employee, before she requested FMLA leave.

Usually, an employer must wait until a later phase in the litigation process to ask a court to dismiss a case on those grounds. However, the employee's allegations in a recent case allowed the employer to seek and obtain dismissal early in the litigation.

Friendship Goes Awry

"Pam" worked at the Berkshire (Massachusetts) Middle District Registry of Deeds as the first assistant register. During her decade of employment, she developed a friendship with a coworker, "Angela." In 2013, Angela was appointed register of deeds and became Pam's supervisor. At that point, their friendship began to crumble, and Angela terminated Pam in 2015.

Pam claimed that approximately 1 year after Angela became the register of deeds, she began to experience stress, anxiety, fatigue, hair loss, aches, and gastrointestinal pain. She sought medical attention for those symptoms and kept Angela apprised of her condition. She alleged that a few months later, Angela repeatedly asked her to donate to the political campaign of the secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, who was running for reelection. She said that when she initially declined, she was excluded from meetings and decisions. Eventually, she made a contribution to the campaign, allegedly under pressure.

By October 2014, Pam had been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. After she suffered a nervous breakdown at work, Angela drove her home. She was off work for approximately 2 weeks. When she attempted to return, Angela suggested that she take another week to rest, which she did.

Disciplinary Train Leaves the Station . . .

In early December 2014, Pam alleged that Angela asked her a question in front of others that was meant to embarrass her. She also claimed that after she received a pistol from her husband for Christmas, Angela called him in January 2015 to express her discomfort over the gift and ask if she carried the gun to work. According to the complaint, the day after the call, Angela accused Pam of having an affair. She then left Pam two voicemails directing her to report for work the following day, January 30.

When Pam attempted to enter the building on January 30, she was denied access by a...