Contributed By: Allison P. Sues of SmithAmundsen
| Last month, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion that provides a helpful reminder about the extent to which an employer may ask an employee to work during a leave taken under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). In D’Onofrio v. Vacation Publications, Inc., a sales representative requested FMLA leave to care for her husband, who had suffered a major back injury. Her employer gave her two options – she could either go on unpaid leave or she could log on remotely a few times per week during her leave in order to service her existing accounts and keep her commissions. The sales representative opted to continue servicing her accounts during her leave. Later, the sales representative sued her employer and alleged, among other claims, that her employer denied her entitlements under the FMLA by requesting that she work during her leave.
The court quickly dismissed this claim because the sales representative had voluntarily agreed to the work. The employer had not coerced this work and had not conditioned the sales representative’s continued employment on completing the work during her leave. The court stated that “[g]iving employees the option to work while on leave does not constitute an interference with FMLA rights so long as working while on leave is not a condition of employment.” |
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