Assuming the worst – Termination may not preempt FMLA obligations

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Abstract: This article discusses a case in which a nurse claimed that her employer had interfered with her rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) when it terminated her after she’d left work because of an anxiety attack. A district court agreed with the defendant company that she had provided notice of her need for FMLA leave after her termination and was, therefore, too late. But the Eighth Circuit determined that she had met the “as soon as practicable” standard of the federal regulation. A sidebar looks at a different case, in which the plaintiff was indeed too late. Clinkscale v. St. Therese of New Hope, No. 12-1223, November 13, 2012 (8th Cir.) Bosley v. Cargill Meat Solutions Corp., No. 12-1290, Feb. 5, 2013 (8th Cir.)