Second Circuit Court Holds HR Director Is Individually The 'Employer'

In an opinion last week, the Second Circuit ruled that a company's human resources (HR) director could be held individually liable for Family and Medical Leave Act violations.

The Court said that the HR director had enough control over an employee's job and enough input into her firing to qualify her as an "employer" under the statute! Graziadio v. Culinary Institute of America, Shaynan Garrioch, and Loreen Gardella, No. 15-888-cv (March 17, 2016).

We have blogged previously on other important FMLA policy and case law, including Employer Beware: The FMLA Can Reach Further Than You May Think, New Guidance From The EEOC Requires Employers To Provide Reasonable Accommodations Under The Pregnancy Discrimination Act Employer Intent Is Immaterial In FMLA Interference Claims, and The Family and Medical Leave Act: 10 Years Later.

In the facts of this case, as explained by the Court, the plaintiff took FMLA leave to care for her son, and then took additional leave a few weeks later when her second son broke his leg. During the plaintiff's second term of absence, the employer took issue with the paperwork supporting the leave request, and refused to allow her to return until she provided new documentation. Communication between the plaintiff and the employer broke down, and ultimately the employer fired the plaintiff for abandoning her job. The plaintiff subsequently sued the employer and two of her supervisors alleging interference and retaliation under the FMLA, and discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

At the District Court, summary judgment was granted to the employer. The District Court found that the plaintiff could not establish that she was wrongfully denied FMLA leave, or that the employer's actions were retaliatory or discriminatory. Importantly in this case, the District Court dismissed the plaintiff's individual FMLA claims against the HR employees, finding that neither employee qualified as an "employer" subject to liability under the FMLA. Graziadio v. Culinary Inst. of Am., No. 13 Civ. 1082 (NSR), 2015 WL 1344327 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 20, 2015).

The District Court also determined that the plaintiff could not sustain her claims of FMLA interference because she had "not been denied any leave to care for [her son] and, having failed to submit a medical certification form, had no entitlement to leave to care for [her second son]." In addition it rejected the plaintiff's FMLA retaliation and ADA discrimination claims...