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Employers are advised that employees, to secure the protections of the law, need not specifically mention FMLA.
By James E. Hall, Mark T. Kobata, Marty Denis and D. Diane Hatch Comments 0 | Recommend 0
ames Sarnowski, former service manager for New Jersey limousine company Air
Brook, was fired eight days after he told his supervisor that he might need a second
coronary artery bypass surgery. He had already undergone a quintuple coronary artery
bypass surgery in October 2002, for which he took six weeks of leave from work.
In December 2002, Air Brook gave Sarnowski a written warning regarding his work
performance. Citing performance problems, Air Brook fired Sarnowski in April of
2003—shortly after Sarnowski told his supervisor that he might need an additional
six weeks of leave for another heart surgery.
Sarnowski brought suit in the U.S. District Court for the
District of New Jersey alleging that Air Brook interfered with his FMLA rights,
but that court dismissed his claims.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit reversed the
district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the employer on Sarnowski's
FMLA and state law claims under the state Law Against Disabilities. Immediately
before his termination, Sarnowski made it clear to his employer that his health
problems were continuing. This was sufficient to satisfy the notice requirement
of the FMLA, the 3rd Circuit held, and thus Air Brook could not interfere with his
FMLA rights.
The 3rd Circuit also held that Sarnowski presented a genuine
issue of material fact sufficient to survive summary judgment on his state Law Against
Disabilities claim. Sarnowski v. Air Brook Ambulance Limousine Inc., 3d Cir. No.
06-2144 (12/12/07).
IMPACT: Employers are advised that employees, to secure the
protections of the law, need not specifically mention FMLA.
Workforce Management, January 14, 2008, p. 6
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D. Diane Hatch, Ph.D., is a human resources consultant based in San
Francisco. James E. Hall, Mark T. Kobata and Marty Denis are partners with
the law firm of Barlow, Kobata and Denis, with offices in Los Angeles and Chicago. E-mail editors@workforce.com to comment. Top of Legal Insight | What's New Archive
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ames Sarnowski, former service manager for New Jersey limousine company Air
Brook, was fired eight days after he told his supervisor that he might need a second
coronary artery bypass surgery. He had already undergone a quintuple coronary artery
bypass surgery in October 2002, for which he took six weeks of leave from work.
In December 2002, Air Brook gave Sarnowski a written warning regarding his work
performance. Citing performance problems, Air Brook fired Sarnowski in April of
2003—shortly after Sarnowski told his supervisor that he might need an additional
six weeks of leave for another heart surgery.
