Employers, take note! The EEOC recently filed a lawsuit against PACE Southeast Michigan, serving as a reminder that fulfilling your obligations under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) doesn’t mean you’ve met your requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). PACE allegedly treated employees’ inability to return immediately after their FMLA leave as voluntary resignations, without considering ADA-mandated reasonable accommodations like short-term unpaid leave.
What Happened?
On September 13, 2024, the EEOC sued PACE Southeast Michigan (PACE) for allegedly violating the ADA by treating employees’ inability to return to work immediately upon exhaustion of their FMLA leave as voluntary resignations. In its Complaint, the EEOC alleges that two employees of PACE requested brief extensions of unpaid leave when their respective health conditions did not permit them to return to work immediately when their approved FMLA leave periods ended. Both employees requested an additional 30 days or less of unpaid leave, and provided documentation from their medical providers detailing how many extra days they would need and why.
PACE, however, allegedly maintained a “policy and practice of deeming any employee who is unable to return to work at the expiration of FMLA leave as terminated due to a ‘voluntary resignation.’” The company therefore terminated the employees without considering whether it could provide further short-term unpaid leave to the employees with no undue burden as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA.
In its Complaint, the EEOC alleges that PACE’s blanket policy violated the ADA because PACE failed to engage in the interactive process of finding a reasonable accommodation. The EEOC further alleges that PACE could have accommodated both requests for extended leave for up to 30 days without any undue burden, as evidenced by the fact that neither employee was replaced for months after their respective terminations.
StraightforWARD Legal Advice:
Here’s the key lesson: Employers can’t rely solely on the FMLA. When an employee’s FMLA leave expires, employers still need to evaluate whether additional accommodations, like unpaid leave extensions, are required under the ADA. The ADA requires an “interactive process,” meaning employers must communicate with the employee to explore reasonable accommodations that don’t pose an undue burden.
Failing to engage in this process can lead to serious legal consequences, including investigations by the EEOC, lawsuits, and potential penalties such as attorney fees, compensatory damages, and punitive damages.
If you have any questions about FMLA, ADA, or other compliance matters, don’t hesitate to contact Ross Currie at 215-647-6604 or rcurrie@thewardlaw.com for guidance.