By Al Vreeland, JD
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is one of the more difficult laws for employer compliance. The regulations are long and convoluted and filled with traps for employers. And now, in a case from the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Alabama, Florida and Georgia), we learn that certain aspects of FMLA entitlement must be judged in hindsight.
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Regina White worked for Beltram Edge Tool Supply. She first injured her knee in April 2010, about 10 months before she requested FMLA leave. At the time, an orthopedist prescribed physical therapy and told her she might need surgery if her knee remained unstable. She was able to work until December of 2010 despite her knee injury.
White stopped reporting for work on December 23, but her absences were due to other health issues. On January 27, 2011, still absent from work, White visited her primary care physician and reported that she had fallen twice the previous weekend, reinjuring the same knee. The next day, January 28, she spoke with two Beltram supervisors.
She told her direct supervisor that her “knee gave out and it was painful and [she] could [not] put any weight on it and received a referral from [her primary care physician] to go to an orthopedic physician.” She also spoke with Beltram’s executive vice president of operations and asked for FMLA paperwork.