Merely discouraging FMLA leave may land employers in hot water

Employment Matters

By Laura B. Bacon and Christina Kurow

Laura B. Bacon of Nixon Peabody LLP focuses her practice on commercial litigation and labor and employment. She represents clients in both state and federal courts in addition to various administrative venues. Christina Kurow is a commercial litigator with Nixon Peabody LLP who represents clients in state and federal courts and in arbitrations nationwide. She co-leads the firm’s Chicago Women’s Resource Group.

Posted October 10, 2022 11:34 AM

The difficulty of administering employees’ FMLA leave requests got even more complicated with the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling in Ziccarelli v. Dart. The court held that employers may be held liable for violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act for simply discouraging employees from taking protected leave — outright denial of an employee’s leave request is not required in order to trigger a viable cause of action under 29 U.S.C. Sec. 2615(a)(1).The Ziccarelli case (No. 19-3435 …

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