By Kate McGovern Tornone, Editor
While courts have held that various employer actions may constitute retaliation under federal employment laws, coworker “discourtesies” do not rise to that level under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), a federal judge ruled recently.
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The case involved a worker who took leave to have carpal tunnel surgery. Debra Checa, a Drexel University employee, informed her employer of her need for leave a month in advance and another employee—who was not her supervisor but who could assign her tasks—gave her a list of duties to complete before her leave.
Checa says that when she returned to work, she did not receive a warm welcome; instead, the coworker convened a meeting to reprimand her for not completing the required tasks before her leave. Checa quit during the meeting. She tried to rescind her resignation the next day but the head of her department refused to allow her to do so.
Checa sued, alleging that the meeting and the employer’s refusal to allow her to rescind her resignation were adverse employment actions taken in retaliation for her taking leave.