Court Hands Victory To Employer In 'Leave After Leave' Battle

Of all the accommodations considered reasonable under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), perhaps the most frustrating is when an employee requests additional time off after their 12 weeks of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave ends. This is particularly true since the ADA, unlike the FMLA, provides no statutory or regulatory parameters indicating the amount of additional leave you must provide. However, a federal appeals court has just handed employers a milestone victory in one such legal battle that might ease the frustration levels for some.

Employer Frustrations With Additional ADA Leave

For decades, employers have been vexed by the thorny issue of whether to grant additional leave - and how much to allow - as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA after an employee's FMLA leave has expired. Further, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has aggressively sought to protect employees seeking such an accommodation, and courts have often sided with the federal watchdog agency.

For example, the EEOC filed a class action lawsuit in an Illinois district court against United Parcel Service (UPS) in August 2009, alleging that the employer violated the ADA with its allegedly inflexible policy of terminating employees rather than further extending their leave when they were unable to return to work after one year. Finally, just this year UPS settled the lawsuit for $2 million.

Light At The End Of The Tunnel?

UPS may be grinding its teeth over that settlement in light of a recent decision that grants employers significant rights in similar situations. In the September 20, 2017 decision of Severson vs. Hartline Woodcraft, Inc., the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the EEOC's position that offering a finite multi-month ADA leave to begin at the expiration of FMLA leave is a reasonable accommodation as a matter of law.

The plaintiff, Raymond Severson, had performed physically demanding work for the fabricator of retail display fixtures in Wisconsin for seven years. In June 2013, he took FMLA leave because of a back condition. When he was unable to return to work at the end of his FMLA-protected leave, he requested two additional months of leave to have surgery. The employer denied his request and terminated his employment, but stated he could reapply when he was physically able to return.

About two months later, Severson's doctor cleared him for full duty. Rather than reapplying for work, he filed a lawsuit. The...