WOODMAN v. MIESEL SYSCO FOOD COMPANY
Case Details
- Citation
- 254 Mich. App. 159
- Judge(s)
- Before: O’Connell, P.J., and Griffin and Hoekstra, JJ.; Hoekstra, J., concurred.
- Procedural Posture — the stage the case had reached
- appeal
- State
- Michigan
- Circuit
- 6th Circuit
Related Laws
No specific laws identified for this ruling.
Claim Types
Outcome
Employee prevailed in FMLA violation claim. Trial court granted summary disposition in plaintiff's favor, awarding back pay damages of $59,331.94 and reinstatement to his former position. Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that plaintiff's notice of need for leave was adequate and defendants violated the FMLA by terminating employment.
Excerpt
WOODMAN v MIESEL SYSCO FOOD COMPANY Docket No. 226001. Submitted September 11, 2002, at Detroit. Decided November 26, 2002, at 9:00 a.m. Leave to appeal sought. James Woodman brought an action in'the Wayne Circuit Court against Miesel Sysco Food Service Company and Kenneth Angelosanto, alleging violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), 29 USC 2611 et seq., and other claims as a result of the defendants’ termination of his employment on the basis of absenteeism. The plaintiff went to a hospital after experiencing chest pains at work. After he was examined, it was determined that there was no apparent heart damage and he was released. The doctor told the plaintiff not to return to work until a stress test, which was scheduled for ten days later, was performed. When the stress test revealed no heart conditions, the plaintiff was told he could return to work. The court, Robert L. Ziolkowski, J., granted summary disposition in favor of the plaintiff, awarded the plaintiff damages and attorney fees, and ordered that the defendants reinstate the plaintiff to his former job. The defendants appealed. The plaintiff cross appealed, alleging error in the denial of his request for liquidated damages and in the court’s determination that the plaintiff was not discharged in retaliation for asserting his rights under the fmla. The Court of Appeals held: 1. Where, as in this case, the need for fmla leave is unforeseeable, the fmla itself is silent regarding notice requirements. However, regulations implementing the act promulgated by the secretary of labor pursuant to a grant of authority in the fmla do address the notice requirements. 2. The regulations provide that what is sufficient, both in terms of the timing of the notice and its content, will depend on the facts and circumstances of each individual case. The information imparted to the employer must be sufficient to reasonably apprise it of the employee’s request to take time off for a serious health condition. The employer’s duties under the fmla are triggered when the employee provides enough information to put the employer on notice that the employee may be in need of fmla leave. However, in giving notice, the employee need not expressly assert rights under the fmla or even mention the fmla, but need only state that leave is needed. Once circumstances suggest that an employee may qualify for fmla leave, the employer has the obligation to inquire further into the matter. 3. An employer may require that an employee’s leave be verified by a medical certification issued by the health care provider of the employee. When an employee first gives notice of his need for leave, employers who want such medical certification must give the employee specific, written notice of the requirement and the anticipated consequences for failing to meet the notice requirement. Employers may not take action against an employee for failure to provide medical certification where the employer fails to provide a specific written request for medical certification. 4. When the leave is not foreseeable and advance notice is not possible, the employer must allow at least fifteen days after its request for the employee to provide medical certification. 5. It is a question of fact whether the notice is adequate. 6. The court did not err in concluding that the plaintiffs notice was sufficient as a matter of law to put the defendants on notice that the plaintiff might qualify for fmla leave. 7. Although the plaintiff failed to comply with the leave provisions of his collective bargaining agreement, the fmla cannot be diminished by a collective bargaining agreement. 8. An absence from work because of a physician’s “no work” order pending an examination to determine if a serious health condition exists, even if the final diagnosis contraindicates a serious condition, may be protected by the fmla where the other requirements of a “serious health condition” are met, i.e., treatment two or more times by a health care provider and a period of incapacity of more than three calendar days. 9. Here, the plaintiff was instructed by his physician not to work until after he was examined to determine if a serious health condition existed. The defendants did not properly initiate the fmla certification process. The plaintiff satisfied the other requirements of a “serious health condition involving continuing treatment” because he was treated two times by a health care provider and had a period of incapacity of more than three consecutive calendar days. The court properly found that the defendants violated the fmla when they terminated the plaintiffs employment. 10. The court did not err in awarding the plaintiff back wages and reinstatement. 11. The court did not abuse its discretion in declining to award liquidated damages on the basis that the defendants’ violation of the fmla was in good faith and defendants had reasonable grounds for believing the fmla was not violated. Affirmed. O’Connell, P.J., dissenting, stated that the fmla and the parties’ collective bargaining agreement (cba) are not in conflict and each is clear on its face. It should be concluded that the employer has not violated the fmla and that the plaintiff’s employment was properly terminated under the cba. The fmla is silent regarding notice requirements and the CBA provides that an absence of three consecutive days requires written medical notification. The fmla leaves open the notice requirement to allow employers and employees to bargain for the usual and customary terms and conditions of employment. Where, as here, the act is clear, there is no reason to refer to the regulations implementing the act. 1. Labor Relations — Family and Medical Leave Act — Notice. The Family and Medical Leave Act provides that when the need for a leave is foreseeable, an employee must provide the employer with no less than thirty days advance notice; the act is silent with regard to the notice requirements where the need for a leave is unforeseeable; what is sufficient, both in terms of the timing of the notice and its content, depends on the facts and circumstances of each case (29 USC 2612[e][l], [e] [2] [B]). 2. Labor Relations — Family and Medical Leave Act — Implementing Regulations. The Family and Medical Leave Act grants the secretary of labor authority to promulgate regulations implementing the act; the regulations are given controlling weight unless they are arbitrary, capricious, or manifestly contrary to the act; the regulations may be examined in interpreting the provisions of the act especially where the regulations address an issue on which the act itself is silent, such as the notice requirements where an employee’s need for a leave under the act is unforeseeable (29 USC 2654). 3. Labor Relations — Family and Medical Leave Act •— Serious Health Conditions. An employee’s absence from work when a physician has given the employee a “no work” order pending further examinations to determine if a serious health condition exists may be protected by the Family and Medical Leave Act, even if the final diagnosis contraindicates a serious condition, where the employee meets the act’s other requirements for a “serious health condition,” i.e., treatment two or more times by a health care provider and a period of incapacity of more than three calendar days (29 CFR 825.114[a], [b]; 29 USC 2612[a][l][D]). Dwight Teachworth for the plaintiff. Cummings, McClorey, Davis & Acho, P.L.C. (by Ronald G. Acho), for the defendants. Before: O’Connell, P.J., and Griffin and Hoekstra, JJ. Griffin, J. Defendants appeal as of right the order of the circuit court granting summary disposition in favor of plaintiff on his claim alleging a violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), 29 USC 2611 et seq., awarding plaintiff back pay damages of $59,331.94, and reinstating plaintiff to his job as a track driver. Plaintiff cross appeals, asserting that the trial court erred in denying his request for liquidated damages and in concluding he was not discharged in retaliation for asserting his rights under the FMLA. We affirm. i On October 9, 1995, plaintiff, a track driver who delivered groceries for defendant Miesel Sysco Food Service Company (Miesel), was making a delivery at work when he began to experience chest pains. Plaintiff called Miesel’s dispatcher and advised him of his symptoms, but continued to unload his track until defendant Kenneth Angelosanto, plaintiff’s supervisor, arrived with another employee to relieve plaintiff. Plaintiff refused a ride to the hospital and, after retrieving his car at Miesel’s plant, picked up his girlfriend and drove himself to the emergency room. At the hospital, plaintiff was given a physical exam and an electrocardiogram (ekg), and medication was administered. There was no apparent heart damage and plaintiff was released from the hospital later that same day. However, plaintiff was told not to return to work until after he had a stress test, which was scheduled in approximately ten days. The written “Personal Discharge Plan” given to plaintiff by the examining physician indicated: No work until stress test. Your doctor has determined that you have chest pain of a minor or stable nature, presumably from the heart. Based on your current symptoms and evaluation, there is a low probability of a heart attack. . . . Most people with new, changing, or prolonged symptoms need hospitalization until the diagnosis is certain. [Emphasis added.] Plaintiff did not immediately take this written discharge plan to Miesel following his visit to the emergency room, later offering several explanations regarding why he did not take the hospital form to Miesel. However, there appears to be no dispute that plaintiff did inform Miesel, through its employees, that he would be unable to work until he had the stress test. Plaintiff testified during his deposition that he telephoned Miesel’s dispatcher the same evening that he was released from the emergency room and informed the dispatcher that he was going to be off work on medical leave until the stress test was administered. He testified that he spoke again to a dispatcher on October 10 or 11 to remind Miesel that he would not be working until the stress test was done. Plaintiff further testified that he telephoned one of Miesel’s employees (Toni Kollios) in its human resources office on October 11 to discuss insurance issues related to the stress test and, on October 13, he called “Debbie” Williams in human resources regarding his absence from work. Contrary to plaintiffs recollection, Debbie Williams testified that she told plaintiff that she “really had to have something to show why he was not at work.” Miesel alleged that attempts were made to contact plaintiff and tell him that he needed to submit the doctor’s note, but Miesel could not reach plaintiff because he had traveled out of town to winterize his cottage. On October 19, plaintiff delivered to Miesel the emergency room medical discharge plan that specified “No work until stress test.” On October 23, plaintiff was given a stress test that revealed no heart conditions and he was released to return to work the next day. However, plaintiff, a union member, learned that his employment had already been terminated on October 16 for allegedly violating two rules of the collective bargaining agreement: (1) unauthorized, unexcused absenteeism, and (2) an absence for three successive days without written medical notification. Plaintiff brought suit against defendants alleging a violation of the FMLA along with other claims. The circuit court ultimately granted plaintiff’s motion for partial summary disposition and denied defendants’ motion pertaining to the FMLA claim, finding no genuine issue of material fact that defendants, by terminating plaintiff’s employment, violated the provisions of the fmla as a matter of law. An evidentiary hearing was held to determine the extent of plaintiffs damages stemming from the fmla violation, and the trial court subsequently awarded plaintiff $59,331.94 in damages, attorney fees, and also ordered defendants to reinstate plaintiff to his “original position.” Defendants now appeal and plaintiff cross appeals. Both appeals involve only issues related to plaintiffs claim under the fmla. n Defendants first contend that the lower court erred in denying their motion for summary disposition and granting plaintiffs motion because plaintiff failed to give defendants adequate notice of his need for an unpaid leave of absence as required by the fmla, and, farther, that his employment was terminated for just cause separate and apart from any obligation under the fmla. Although our state appellate courts have not yet had occasion to address issues concerning notice requirements under the FMLA, “review by this Court of the federal law regarding this federal statute is proper.” Smith v Goodwill Industries of West Michigan, Inc, 243 Mich App 438, 443; 622 NW2d 337 (2000). See also Young v Young, 211 Mich App 446, 448, n 1; 536 NW2d 254 (1995). With respect to our review: Where there is no conflict, state courts are bound by the holdings of federal courts on federal questions. Schueler v Weintrob, 360 Mich 621; 105 NW2d 42 (1960); Kocsis v Pierce, 192 Mich App 92, 98; 480 NW2d 598 (1991). However, [when the] issue has divided the circuits of the federal court of appeals, we are free to choose the most appropriate view. Schueler, supra at 634; Bruno v Dept’ of Treasury, 157 Mich App 122, 130; 403 NW2d 519 (1987). [Id. at 450.] This Court reviews de novo a trial court’s decision on a motion for summary disposition. Smith, supra at 442. A motion for summary disposition pursuant to MCR 2.116(C)(10) tests the factual support of a claim. The motion should be granted if the evidence demonstrates that no genuine issue of material fact exists and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. MacDonald v PKT, Inc, 464 Mich 322, 332; 628 NW2d 33 (2001). In deciding a motion under MCR 2.116(C)(10), the trial court considers the pleadings, affidavits, depositions, admissions, or other documentary evidence in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party to determine whether a genuine issue of fact exists. Ritchie-Gamester v Berkley, 461 Mich 73, 76; 597 NW2d 517 (1999). Enacted in 1993, the fmla represents an attempt to reconcile “the demands of the workplace with the needs of families . . . .” 29 USC 2601(b)(1). Thus, while Congress sought to provide employees the right to “take reasonable leave for medical reasons,” it also sought to do so “in a manner that accommodates the legitimate interests of employers.” 29 USC 2601(b)(2) and (3). The FMLA applies to private-sector employers of fifty or more employees. 29 USC 2611(4). An eligible employee is entitled to twelve work weeks of unpaid leave during any twelve-month period because of, among other reasons, “a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of the position of such employee.” 29 USC 2612(a)(1)(D). At the conclusion of a qualified leave period, the employee is entitled to reinstatement to his former position, or to an equivalent one, with the same terms and benefits. 29 USC 2614(a). The FMLA makes it “unlawful for any employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of or the attempt to exercise, any right provided under” the FMLA. 29 USC 2615(a)(1). The threshold issue raised by defendants involves the adequacy of the notice allegedly given by plaintiff regarding his need for fmla leave time. When the need for fmla leave is foreseeable, an employee must provide the employer with no less than thirty days advance notice. 29 USC 2612(e)(1) and (e)(2)(B); 29 CFR 825.302(a). However, where, as in the instant case, the need for FMLA leave is unforeseeable, the FMLA itself is silent regarding notice requirements, but the regulations implementing the act address the issue. In this regard, the fmla grants the secretary of labor authority to promulgate regulations implementing the act. See 29 USC 2654. “Regulations promulgated pursuant to such an express delegation of authority ‘are given controlling weight unless they are arbitrary, capricious, or manifestly contrary to the statute.’ ” Miller v AT&T Corp, 250 F3d 820, 833 (CA 4, 2001), quoting Chevron USA Inc v Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc, 467 US 837, 844; 104 S Ct 2778; 81 L Ed 2d 694 (1984). Thus, we examine those regulations in interpreting its provisions. Summerville v Esco Co Ltd Partnership, 52 F Supp 2d 804, 810 (WD Mich, 1999). Specifically, 29 CFR 825.303 provides: (a) When the approximate timing of the need for leave is not foreseeable, an employee should give notice to the employer of the need for fmla leave as soon as practicable under the facts and circumstances of the particular case. It is expected that an employee will give notice to the employer within no more than one or two working days of learning of the need for leave, except in extraordinary circumstances where such notice is not feasible. In the case of a medical emergency requiring leave because of an employee’s own serious health condition or to care for a family member with a serious health condition, written advance notice pursuant to an employer’s internal rules and procedures may not be required when fmla leave is involved. (b) The employee should provide notice to the employer either in person or by telephone, telegraph, facsimile (“fax”) machine or other electronic means. . . . The employee need not expressly assert rights under the fmla or even mention the fmla, but may only state that leave is needed. The employer will be expected to obtain any additional required information through informal means. The employee . . . will be expected to provide more information when it can readily be accomplished as a practical matter, taking into consideration the exigencies of the situation. [Emphasis added.] What is sufficient, both in terms of the timing of the notice and its content, will depend on the facts and circumstances of each individual case. Manuel v Westlake Polymers Corp, 66 F3d 758, 764 (CA 5, 1995); Mora v Chem-Tronics, Inc, 16 F Supp 2d 1192, 1209 (SD Cal, 1998). “The critical question is whether the information imparted to the employer is sufficient to reasonably apprise it of the employee’s request to take time off for a serious health condition.” Manuel, supra at 764. See also Thorson v Gemini, Inc, 205 F3d 370, 381 (CA 8, 2000), quoting Browning v Liberty Mut Ins Co, 178 F3d 1043, 1049 (CA 8, 1999) (“ ‘Under the fmla, the employer’s duties are triggered when the employee provides enough information to put the employer on notice that the employee may be in need of fmla leave.’ ”); Brohm v JH Props, Inc, 149 F3d 517, 523 (CA 6, 1998). As expressed in 29 CFR 825.303(b), in giving notice, an employee need not expressly assert rights under the fmla or even mention the fmla, but need only state that leave is needed. As explained by the court in Stoops v One Call Communications, Inc, 141 F3d 309, 312 (CA 7, 1998): When requesting unpaid leave, the employee need not mention the fmla. 29 CFR 825.303(b). In fact, the employee can be completely ignorant of the benefits conferred by the Act: it is sufficient notice if the employee provides the employer with enough information to put the employer on notice that FMLA-qualifying leave is needed. See also Price v Fort Wayne, 117 F3d 1022, 1026 (CA 7, 1997); Manuel, supra at 764; Mora, supra at 1208-1209; Stubl v T A Sys, Inc, 984 F Supp 1075, 1085 (ED Mich, 1997); Brannon v OshKosh B’Gosh, Inc, 897 F Supp 1028, 1038 (MD Tenn, 1995); Hendry v GTE North, Inc, 896 F Supp 816, 828 (ND Ind, 1995). Once circumstances suggest that an employee may qualify for fmla leave, the employer has the obligation of inquiring further into the matter. Spangler v Fed Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, 278 F3d 847, 853 (CA 8, 2002); Mora, supra at 1209; Williams v She
Similar Rulings
The Rio Blanco County Department of Human Services (Department) became involved with the parents in this case as a result of concerns about the children's welfare due to the condition of the family home, the parents' use of methamphetamine, and criminal cases involving the parents. Attempts at voluntary services failed, and on the Department's petition for dependency and neglect, the district court ultimately terminated the parents' rights. On appeal, the parents contended that the Department failed to make reasonable efforts to reunify them with their children. Specifically, the parents contended that the Department did not give them sufficient time to complete the services under their treatment plans and failed to accommodate their drug testing needs. The termination hearing was not held until more than a year after the motion to terminate was filed. For nine months before the motion to terminate was filed, the Department provided numerous services to the parents, including substance abuse therapy, therapeutic visitation supervision, drug abuse monitoring, and a parental capacity evaluation. The Department also provided counseling for the children. Both parents missed drug tests and tested positive during the testing period, and both were arrested for possession of methamphetamine during the pendency of the case. The Department made reasonable accommodations to meet the parents' needs and the parents had sufficient time to comply with their treatment plans. The record supports the trial court's findings that termination was appropriate because (1) the court-approved appropriate treatment plan had not been complied with by the parents or had not been successful in rehabilitating them (2) the parents were unfit and (3) the conduct or condition of the parents was unlikely to change within a reasonable time. Father also contended that the trial court's decision to interview the 9-year-old twin children together in chambers fundamentally and seriously affected the basi
Browse Related
Facing something similar at work?
Court rulings like this one are useful, but every situation is different. Take 2 minutes to see which laws may protect you — it's free, private, and no account is required to start.
This ruling information is sourced from public court records via CourtListener.com. Case outcomes, claim types, and summaries are extracted using AI analysis and may be incomplete or inaccurate. It is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
See something wrong, or named in this ruling and want it corrected or redacted? Request a correction.