Sixth Circuit Court Of Appeals Applies McDonnell Douglas To FMLA 'Interference' Claims

As claims brought under the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") continue to consume employers' resources, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit may have helped ease the burden on litigants by clarifying a key issue. Earlier this year, the Court held the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting framework typically seen in discrimination cases is applicable to FMLA interference as well as FMLA retaliation claims. While this may seem to be an esoteric point of law, the clarification provides a boon to diligent employers who might otherwise feel hamstrung when attempting to address performance issues with employees requesting or taking leave provided under the FMLA.

Under the FMLA, employees can bring claims against employers either for interfering with the employees' exercise of leave or attempt to exercise leave or for retaliating against them for taking leave. To establish an interference claim, employees must show they were entitled to leave and gave proper notice and yet were denied FMLA benefitsby the employer. In retaliation claims, employees argue they successfully took their leave, but suffered an adverse employment action after the employer learned they exercised their FMLA rights.

After an employee has satisfactorily established a claim, the McDonnell Douglas framework permits an employer to provide a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for the adverse employment action which the employee must then show is really an artificial or sham reason. This framework can provide a strong position for an employer to obtain pre-trial dismissal of the case. For...