Was Worker Hospitalized for Depression Entitled to Notice of FMLA Rights?

What Do You Think?

When an employee takes leave that may be for an FMLA-qualifying serious health condition, the employer must notify the employee of her eligibility to take FMLA leave. A case involving an audit specialist who suffered from depression addresses the issue of what circumstances might put a company on notice that an employee has such a condition. 

The specialist said she told her supervisor that she struggled with depression. A month later, she was hospitalized for those issues for five days. She didn't have access to a phone during that period, so her husband informed her employer that she was in the hospital because of depression. The specialist never received notice of her right to take medical leave under the FMLA. The employee's supervisor gave her a negative performance review, citing, in part, her absence during those five days.

The specialist sued the company for FMLA interference.

When an employer acquires knowledge that an employee's leave may be for an FMLA-qualifying reason, the employer must notify the employee of the employee's eligibility to take FMLA leave within five business days, absent extenuating circumstances. Failure to give the required notice may constitute FMLA interference. 

The company asked the court to dismiss the claim. 

Should court have thrown out the audit specialist’s claim?

A. Yes. She didn’t have a case because she never asked the company for FMLA leave.

B. No. The company had enough information that it should have known the specialist was eligible for FMLA leave.

If you selected B, you agreed with the court in McGlinchey v. Ciox Health, LLC, No. 3:24-CV-403-DPJ-ASH (S.D. Miss. 05/05/25), which held that the specialist could go forward with her interference claim.

The court pointed out that, according to the specialist, she told her supervisor about her struggles with depression and anxiety a month before she was hospitalized.  

She also claimed she told the company knew she was absent because of her depression, which required inpatient treatment. That was enough, at this early phase of the lawsuit, to show that the company was aware her absences potentially qualified for FMLA leave.

“If true, [the company] was obliged to notify her of her eligibility for FMLA leave within five business days,” the court wrote.

The court refused to dismiss the case, finding the specialist stated a plausible claim.

Share This Article: