Quarantined Employee With Positive COVID Test May Be Entitled To FMLA Leave Even Without Any Restrictions
A decision by a federal court, based on events at the start of the COVID pandemic, examined an employee's claim that he was improperly denied FMLA leave after being advised to quarantine following a positive COVID test, even though he apparently had no COVID symptoms or related restrictions. The Court, on technical grounds, denied the employer's attempt to get the case dismissed.
The facts in Payne v. Woods Services were fairly straightforward, even if the Court's holding was not. The Plaintiff had been exposed to individuals he worked with who tested positive for COVID-19. His doctor advised him to get tested and quarantine for 14 days. The employee informed the Company of that advice. When he was tested for COVID-19, he was notified by a nurse that he had tested positive and advised to quarantine for 14 days. Six days later, the employee was told by the Company that he had been cleared and should return to work. The basis of that communication is not clear from the case. The Plaintiff responded that he could not return to work because he had not completed his quarantine. When the employee didn't return to work, he was fired. The basis of the Company's Motion to Dismiss was that Plaintiff did not have a "serious health condition," and could not claim protection under the FMLA, and, further, had not made or requested notice to the Company of his intention to take FMLA leave.
The Court noted that a "serious health condition" under the FMLA was defined as an illness, injury, impairment or physical or mental condition that involves inpatient care or continuing treatment or certain continuing treatment by a healthcare provider.
Focusing on whether the Plaintiff had given notice of his need for FMLA leave, the Court noted that while the employee must state a qualifying reason for the leave, that notice must allow the employer time to determine whether the leave qualifies under the FMLA. Significantly, the Court then noted that where the employer does not have significant information about the reason for an employee's use of leave, "the employer should inquire further of the employee or the spokesperson to ascertain whether leave is potentially FMLA qualifying."
Against that background, the employer argued that the Plaintiff's failure to allege that he had a serious health condition was fatal to his claims under the FMLA. The Plaintiff responded that the Company was required to provide him with notice of the deficiency in his request for FMLA leave and allow him an opportunity to cure that deficiency.
Interestingly enough, the Court found that, based on FMLA regulations, there was no request by the Company for a medical certification, and only a request from the employee for "leave." However, it did not dismiss the employee's claims. It pointed out that the Plaintiff had alleged a request for leave, and the Defendant did not provide an explanation of any deficiencies in the request or allow an opportunity to cure such deficiencies. The Court thus denied the Company's Motion to Dismiss and directed that the matter should proceed to trial.
Obviously, this case did not constitute a final ruling on the merits of the employee's claim for FMLA protections for his quarantine-related leave. Its holding does illustrate, however, that where an employer is faced with a request for FMLA leave, especially based upon advice of a healthcare provider which, in turn, involves a medical condition, an employer should take the conservative route and request a medical certification from the employee or should send a DOL-mandated Notice of Eligibility and request a medical certification to be completed by the employee's healthcare provider. Since the CDC guidance provided for a quarantine due to the COVID-19 exposure, the basis for FMLA leave may be inferred. It is interesting to note that the reason for the employer's demand that the employee return to work before his 14-day quarantine ended was never explained or even discussed.
It is well known that an employee does not have to mention the magic words "Family and Medical Leave Act" when they seek leave. However, when the leave is associated with medical care or medical directives, employers would be well-advised to provide the required Notice of Eligibility and request a medical certification from the employee in order to gain enough information to make a reasoned decision on the request. A failure to do so may doom the employer to suffer through an extended FMLA lawsuit.
