On Monday, the Lake County Court of Appeals reversed an employer’s judgment on a FMLA claim brought by a former employee who had been fired the day before she was to marry her seriously ill finance after she requested once again to leave work early. Mahoney-Offi v. Great Expressions Dental Ctrs., 2024-Ohio-5160. The court concluded that her complaint could state a valid claim for FMLA retaliation because she was not required to be eligible for FMLA at the time of the leave request. If she “is ultimately able to prove that her termination was not the result of her request to leave early on December 9 but in retaliation for her prior inquiry about FMLA leave, then she has stated a viable claim for retaliation under the FMLA.”
According to the court’s opinion, the plaintiff had been
requesting to take time off to care for her seriously ill boyfriend. She had requested and been denied FMLA on the
grounds that they were not married.
However, it was suggested to her by management that she would be
eligible for FMLA if she married him.
Shortly thereafter, they became engaged and were scheduled to be married
on December 10. On December 9, she
requested to leave work early.
Initially, it was to prepare for her wedding, but later she said it was
because he had become sicker and she needed to care for him. Knowing that she planned to marry the next
day, the employer then fired her on December 9.
She filed suit under the FMLA, which was initially dismissed on the
grounds that she was not eligible for leave on December 9 and had already been
denied leave.
The Court of Appeals reversed on the grounds that a
plaintiff may pursue a FMLA retaliation claim if she was terminated for
merely requesting leave (which is a protected activity) even if she was not eligible for leave at the time of
the FMLA request. However, a jury could
still rule in favor of the employer if it found that she was fired for
requesting to leave early on December 9, instead of the leave which the
employer knew she intended to take after she was married on December 10.
NOTICE: This summary is designed merely to inform and alert
you of recent legal developments. It does not constitute legal advice and does
not apply to any particular situation because different facts could lead to
different results. Information here can change or be amended without notice.
Readers should not act upon this information without legal advice. If you have
any questions about anything you have read, you should consult with or retain
an employment attorney.
