Firing Employees on FMLA Leave

August 19th, 2012 by JBWK

You might bring unwanted trouble on yourself, but you can do it.

In a recent example, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that an employer legally fired an employee who abused her FMLA leave. The employee claimed she couldn’t work at all, but continued working at her part-time job from home while on FMLA leave. After being fired, she claimed her employer interfered with her FMLA rights.

The appeals court ruled in the employer’s favor, finding that the employer terminated her based on its “honest belief” that she misused her FMLA leave. It concluded she was “not entitled to a greater degree of protection…merely because she was on FMLA leave when caught and terminated.”

Basically, you may fire employees out on FMLA leave if you would fire them if they were still at work.

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