A car salesman had worked for a covered employer for five years, left, then rejoined the company five years later. After seven months, the employee took medical leave, then was terminated. He filed suit claiming his termination was an FMLA violation.

Holding that the Family and Medical Leave Act is “ambiguous” on whether previous periods of employment count toward eligibility for the leave, the First Circuit rules that they do count, even though there was a lengthy break in between. The Court noted that the FMLA regulations make it clear that the Department of Labor did not intend for non-consecutive months of employment to count only if the employee maintained a continuing relationship with the company. Rucker v. Lee Holding Co.