Labor & Employment Law

Violation of the FMLA Does Not Support Claim of Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

By Harvey Randall, Esq.

Violation of the FMLA Does Not Support Claim of Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
Source: The FMLA Blog - http://federalfmla.typepad.com/fmla_blog/

Copyright © 2008. All rights reserved by Carl C. Bosland, Esq. Reproduced with permission. Mr. Bosland is the author of A Federal Sector Guide to the Family and Medical Leave Act & Related Litigation.

The denial of FMLA leave or the discharge of an employee for requesting leave is "not egregious enough conduct to be considered extreme and outrageous" to support an employee's claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress, at least not in the Seventh Circuit. The court granted the employer's motion and dismissed the claim.

Alcazar-Anselmo v. City of Chicago, No. 07 C 5246, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32042 (N.D. Ill. April 18, 2008)

Comment: Even though the tort claim was dismissed, the employee may still seek money damages permitted by the FMLA's own remedial scheme. The Seventh Circuit covers Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.

Full post as published by New York Public Personnel Law on April 25, 2008 (boomark / email).