A multibillion-dollar corporation that hired a private investigator to combat excessive employee absenteeism and suspected FMLA abuse withstood an interference and retaliation claim by a fired factory worker in a case brought before the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The case is Scruggs v. Carrier Corp., No. 11-3420 (Aug. 3, 2012).
Daryl Scruggs, who torched parts onto fan coils at Carrier’s Indianapolis manufacturing plant, lost his job after Carrier suspected him of misusing his intermittent FMLA leave. Because Carrier had an “honest suspicion” that Scruggs misused his FMLA leave, both the district and appeals courts agreed that the termination of Scruggs’ job was justified, per the summary judgment by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division.
As part of Carrier’s plan to remedy an absenteeism problem, the firm hired McGough and Associates to conduct surveillance on Scruggs and dozens of other employees who had been suspected of misusing leave or who had a high number of unexcused absences.
On the day that Scruggs took FMLA leave to pick up his mother from a nursing home and take her to a doctor’s appointment, an investigator set up video surveillance in front of Scruggs’ home and did not observe either of Scruggs’ vehicles leaving the driveway.
For additional information about family leave and termination, see Thompson’s employment law library, including the Family and Medical Leave Handbook.