Not Returning Phone Call May Denote Retaliation
Posted on November 01, 2011
Perhaps you’ve forgotten to return a call or two in your lifetime. Most of us have. According to a recent case (Hofferica v. St. Mary Medical Center), employers should be extremely cautious if that “forgotten” phone call is not returning messages to an employee out on FMLA. In this particular case, several unreturned phone calls led to a claim of FMLA retaliation – and, since the communication was clearly a one-way street for the plaintiff, the court agreed.
Kathleen Hofferica had been working as a registered nurse when she was granted intermittent FMLA leave for an inner ear disorder. Due to the necessary treatment, she had to take extended FMLA leave. She left multiple messages with her supervisor throughout the treatment process, updating on her condition – but those messages were never returned.
When Hofferica’s FMLA leave was nearly exhausted, her doctor requested she take one more week before returning to her position to fully recover. She submitted a certification to request a one-week extension to her FMLA leave but never heard back from her manager. Instead, she received a letter saying she was fired, as she had not returned to work after the agreed amount of FMLA had been exhausted. Hofferica sued, claiming the hospital had retaliated against her for taking leave.
After examining the evidence, the court agreed. The judge wrote that the manager’s “failure to return phone calls … certainly suggests an antagonistic attitude toward the employee, particularly where - as here - such refusal began after the employee initiated FMLA leave, and continued despite regular communications from the employee.”
The takeaway? Stay in contact with employees out on extended leave, no matter what type of leave. This is a best practice to not only allow the company to make appropriate staffing plans, but also to help the employee stay in the loop about the workplace, remain engaged about work, and to avoid any kind of mistreatment. Any manager found to be continuously ignoring phone messages from employees should be called on the carpet, as that type of behavior is clearly negligence or an act of hostility.
For more information, please contact one of our ESG Human Resources Consultants at 888-810-8187.
Comments
There are currently no comments, be the first to post one.