10/25/07
By a 2-1 vote, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that an employee's unusual behavior alone may place her employer on notice that she has a serious health condition requiring leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Stevenson v. Hyre Electric Co. Beverly Stevenson had no documented history of misconduct or erratic behavior. However, when a stray dog entered her workspace, she had an extreme emotional and physical reaction, missed several days of work, and began engaging in erratic behavior. Her conduct was of such concern to her co-workers that her employer, Hyre Electric Co., changed the locks and ultimately terminated her employment. Stevenson sued, alleging that the company should have known from her behavior that she needed FMLA leave due to a serious mental health condition.
Hyre Electric moved for summary judgment, arguing that Stevenson's claim failed because she never notified the company that she needed FMLA leave. Stevenson responded that her duty to provide notice was excused because her behavior was sufficiently erratic that the company should have known she needed leave. The district court found that this exception applies only where an employee is unable to communicate her need for leave to her employer. Thus, it granted the company's motion.
Stevenson appealed, and the Seventh Circuit reversed. It held that an employee's duty to provide notice of a serious health condition may be excused if the employee is unable to communicate, or the employee behaves in a way that places the employer on notice. According to the court, Stevenson's behavior was sufficiently odd that a jury could find it met the second exception. Dissenting, Judge Evans found that Stevenson's behavior was not extreme enough to put her employer on notice that she needed FMLA leave, and that applying the exception to her case was to "let the exception swallow the rule."
This case highlights the need for to be conscious of their potential FMLA obligations, even in cases where an employee does not affirmatively request leave or provide notice of a serious health condition.
