Employee Allegedly Abused FMLA Leave By Taking It Around Holidays
- Article Information
- Published on Friday, 26 August 2011 16:30
Douglas Rydalch (Rydalch) worked as a reservations sales agent for Southwest Airlines at its Salt Lake City location. In 2004, Southwest closed the Salt Lake City center and transferred Rydalch to the Houston center. However, Mr. Rydalch’s family remained in Utah and he continued to reside in Utah during his time off. Further, because of his limited seniority, Rydalch had difficulty getting time off around the holidays. In 2004, Rydalch injured his back in a car accident and requested leave pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Southwest granted all of the leave that he requested. However, in 2007, Southwest began to question whether Rydalch was taking FMLA leave around other previously scheduled time off, such as holidays. Southwest conducted an investigation and discovered that Rydalch had used FMLA leave thirty-five times for leave on days just before or after previously scheduled time off, and around important dates and holidays such as July 4, his birthday, Labor Day, his wedding anniversary, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve. A Southwest staff administrator then met with Rydalch and advised that Southwest’s Attendance Program states “Using sick leave or sick pay for a purpose other than that intended constitutes abuse. Abuse of sick leave or sick pay shall warrant immediate termination.” Southwest did not take any further action against Rydalch at that time. Subsequently, Rydalch used FMLA leave around July 4, 2007, and Southwest conducted another investigation in which it determined that Rydalch had a pattern of taking flights to and from Salt Lake City on the days he requested FMLA leave. The staff administrator again met with Rydalch to advise that Southwest’s policy prohibited misuse of FMLA leave. On December 24, 2007, the staff administrator learned that Mr. Rydalch did not report to work and had requested FMLA leave for that day; the staff administrator also learned that Rydalch had purchased round trip tickets from Salt Lake City to Houston during the leave period, and the flights had been booked in June of 2007. Subsequently, Southwest terminated Rydalch and he sued alleging violations of the FMLA and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The court found for Southwest noting that “Mr. Rydalch has not provided any evidence that Southwest interfered with his exercise of FMLA leave in any way apart from terminating his employment… the cause of Mr. Rydalch's termination was Southwest's honest belief that he violated the Attendance Program.” Read More.
HR Practice Pointer: Holiday Pay
- Article Information
- Published on Tuesday, 19 July 2011 09:24
Hours worked on holidays, Saturdays, and Sundays are treated like hours worked on any other day of the week. California law does not require that an employer provide its employees with paid holidays, that it close its business on any particular holiday, or that employees be given the day off for any particular holiday. If an employer chooses to close its business on holidays and gives its employees time off from work with pay, such practice is pursuant to the employer's own policy, the terms of a collective bargaining agreement, or the terms of an employment agreement between the employer and employee, as there is nothing in the law that requires such a practice. Further, there is nothing in the law that requires an employer to pay an employee a special premium for work performed on a holiday, Saturday, or Sunday, other than the overtime premium
required for work performed in excess of eight hours in a workday or 40 hours in a workweek. If an employer decides to provide paid holidays, the employer selects the holidays to be offered, in addition to eligibility requirements. Exempt employees are entitled to compensation if they are ready, willing and able to work on a holiday, but no work is available (i.e. the company is closed for the holiday). Employers typically grant the following holidays: New Year's Day; President's Day; Memorial Day; Fourth of July: Labor Day; Thanksgiving; Friday after Thanksgiving; and, Christmas. The employer's policy on holidays should be set forth in the employee handbook. Read More.
