The United States Court of Appeals recently held that a supervisor at Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc. was entitled to trial on his claim that his employer wrongfully terminated him in violation of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).  The employee had missed work on December 28, 2011 and asked his girlfriend (a fellow employee) to report his illness and planned absence of a few days.  The girlfriend did tell his supervisor that he would be late or absent on December 28.  The employee also texted his boss before the start of his shift to tell him that he was having health issues, would be out a few days, and needed to see a doctor.

The employee missed December 28, 29 and 30. He was not scheduled to work on December 31, January 1 or January 2.  He saw a doctor on January 2, who diagnosed him with back pain and depression.  On January 3, he provided a doctor's note excusing him from work the previous week and an additional week moving forward.  Based on the note, he requested leave from December 28 ? January 7.  The employer granted him non-FMLA leave on January 4.

The employee returned to Tyson on January 9, at which time human resources investigated his absences.  At issue was whether he reported his absences in accordance with the company's absence notification policy.  This policy required management team members to personally call their direct supervisor to report an unplanned absence.  The company concluded that the employee's notification, which consisted of his girlfriend providing notice of his absence on December 28 and a subsequent text message he sent to the supervisor about his need for time off, violated the company's absence notification policy.  The employee was terminated accordingly, and filed suit claiming that the employer interfered with his FMLA rights and discriminated against him for taking FMLA leave.  The employer filed a motion for summary judgment, which the trial court granted, and the employee appealed that decision to the Eighth Circuit.

In concluding that the trial court improperly granted the employer summary judgment, the Eighth Circuit reasoned that the employee presented sufficient evidence to create a genuine issue of material fact regarding whether the employee was restored from FMLA leave before being terminated.  The employee claimed that when he returned to work on January 9, he was not permitted to work.  The employer claimed that it returned him to his normal job duties "for a person Human Resources was investigating."  This conflict, the court concluded, raised a factual issue for trial.

The court also reasoned that the employee presented sufficient evidence to create a genuine issue of material fact about whether the legitimate nondiscriminatory reason the employer offered for the employee's termination (his failure to follow the absence notification policy) was pretextual for discrimination.  The employee presented evidence raising the issue of whether he provided timely and adequate notice of his need for leave and whether the company enforced its absence notification policy, especially where the employee claimed to have previously texted his supervisor about an absence without issue.  As such, the court reversed the lower court's grant of summary judgment and remanded the case for further proceedings.  Hudson v. Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc.