Linda S. Collins v. Ntn-Bower Corporation
7 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 895, 2001 U.S. App. LEXIS 25958, 272 F.3d 1006 (2001)
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Rule of Law:
An employee must provide sufficient notice to an employer to make the employer aware that an absence may be FMLA-qualifying. Merely stating that one is 'sick' is insufficient, especially for a chronic condition where the potential for intermittent leave is foreseeable.
Facts:
- Linda Collins had a poor attendance record with her employer, for which she received twelve informal and four formal warnings.
- Collins suffered from clinical depression, a condition she contends had been developing for years.
- Collins's doctor testified that her depression could incapacitate her without warning between 10% and 20% of the time.
- Collins asserted that she had mentioned her depression problem to supervisors in early 1997, a year before the absence that led to her termination.
- In March 1998, Collins called her employer to report that she would be absent for two days, stating only that she was 'sick.'
- Following this two-day absence, Collins's employer terminated her employment.
Procedural Posture:
- Linda Collins filed a lawsuit against her former employer in federal district court, alleging her termination violated the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
- The employer moved for summary judgment, arguing Collins had failed to provide adequate notice for FMLA leave.
- The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the employer.
- Collins, as the appellant, appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
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Issue:
Does an employee's statement that she is 'sick' provide adequate notice to an employer of a need for FMLA-qualifying leave for a serious health condition?
Opinions:
Majority - Easterbrook, Circuit Judge
No. An employee's statement that she is 'sick' does not provide adequate notice for FMLA leave because it does not convey that the employee has a 'serious health condition' as defined by the Act. While employees do not need to expressly mention the FMLA, they must provide enough information to put the employer on notice that the leave may be FMLA-qualifying. Collins's condition was chronic and had been developing for years, meaning the need for occasional leave was foreseeable. Therefore, she could and should have provided her employer with notice of her condition in advance, as contemplated by FMLA regulation § 825.302. When she then needed to take a specific day off, she could have made it clear that the absence was related to her known serious condition. Simply saying 'sick,' especially given her history of attendance issues, did not provide the required notice and may have even misled the employer into thinking it was not an FMLA-related issue.
Analysis:
This decision clarifies the employee's burden of providing notice under the FMLA, particularly for chronic conditions that cause intermittent, unpredictable absences. The court places the onus on the employee to provide enough information for the employer to recognize the potential applicability of the FMLA. It establishes that the foreseeability of a chronic condition itself, even if specific episodes are unpredictable, triggers a duty to provide general notice. This protects employers from having to investigate whether every call-in for 'sickness' constitutes an FMLA event and reinforces that the FMLA is not a tool to excuse general absenteeism without proper communication.
