Case Study 1 - DMEC

FMLA & ADA: ARE YOUR ORGANIZATION'S POLICIES EFFECTIVELY ALIGNED WITH BOTH LAWS?

Case Study 1:

Part I

Darryl is employed by the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, a 150 employee company in Scranton, PA. Darryl has worked for Dunder Mifflin for 6 years as a full-time employee in charge of the company's warehouse. Darryl's boss, Michael Scott, is a rather energetic boss who likes to play the occasional prank. One day, while Darryl is on a ladder retrieving inventory, Michael decides to kick the ladder out from under Darryl and yells "HEY DARRYL HOWS IT HANGING!" Darryl falls to the warehouse floor, injuring his ankle.

Darryl submits the appropriate paper work to the company's Workers' Compensation Department and is quickly approved for benefits. In total, Darryl misses 11 weeks of work because of his injury. The Workers' Compensation Department focuses exclusively on workers' compensation leave. All other leaves, including FMLA leave, are processed by the Employee Leave Department. The Workers' Compensation Department refuses to inform the Employee Leave Department when an employee is out on a comp. leave because it says "HIPAA" precludes them from doing so.

Earlier this year, Darryl had to take 10 weeks of FMLA leave to care for his daughter who had surgery. Therefore, when the Employee Leave Department finally learned of Darryl's workers' compensation leave, some 4 weeks into his 11 week leave (because his supervisor, Michael, mentioned it to someone in the Employee Leave Department), the Employee Leave Department sent Darryl a notice letting him know that he is not eligible for any continued FMLA.

It has now been 11 weeks since falling from the ladder and Darryl is ready to return to work with restrictions. However, his doctor says he can only work part-time for the next three months, and he will need some additional equipment to perform his duties. When Michael balks at this news because he believes Darryl will not be able to do his job with these restrictions, the Workers' Compensation Department tells Michael that that is fine ? if he cannot do the job with the restrictions, Michael can let Darryl go.

Part II

Jim and Pam are also full-time employees of Dunder Mifflin and have been married for over 2 years. They are expecting their first child together. Unfortunately, Dunder Mifflin does not offer their employees any paid paternity or maternity leave benefits. A month before their baby's expected due date, Jim and Pam notify the Employee Leave Department that they intend to take FMLA leave when their baby is born. When the big day finally comes, Jim takes 6 weeks off and Pam takes 8 weeks.

At the end of the 6 weeks, Jim is extremely stressed from living with a newborn child. He is sleep deprived, and unable to perform his normal job functions. He visits a doctor, who determines that he is unable to work, and orders him to bed for 2 weeks. The doctor further states that when Jim is released

to work, he will need a quiet place to work, written directions on assignments for him to stay focused, and a weekly supervisory meetings to discuss work progress.

Instead of going to Employee Leave, Jim goes to see Toby in Human Resources. They discuss whether the Company can reasonably accommodate Jim's condition. Toby approves Jim's 2 week leave of absence as a reasonable accommodation, and the various accommodations needed upon his return. Toby forgets to inform the Employee Leave Department of Jim's 2 week leave.

Case Study 2:

Part I

Jerry and George grew up together in Queens, New York, and are best friends. Both play on a summer softball team in Central Park; Jerry plays Center Field and George plays Left Field.

One day, a high fly ball is hit into the gap between Left and Center. Wanting to show off for the crowd, both Jerry and George made a play on the ball; neither attempted to call the other one off. As a result, Jerry and George collided in the outfield.

The collision caused Jerry to break his leg. His leg is placed in a cast and he is given crutches to help him get around for a few months. Jerry works at the Laugh Factory, a comedian talent scouting agency located in NYC. Being in NYC, it is not easy to get around on crutches, especially during prime commuting hours. Jerry goes to the head of the Laugh Factory's Disability Office, and asks if he can slightly adjust his work hours for the months he is on crutches to avoid having to commute during rush hour. His accommodation is approved.

Jerry has his own office and usually sits with the door closed. His office neighbor, Kramer, loves to barge into Jerry's office unannounced. Per the doctor's orders, Jerry has to keep his leg elevated while sitting down. The only way Jerry can do this at the office is to hang his leg off a chair and leave it right in the path of the door.

For the two months since the collision, whenever Kramer barges into the office, he nails Jerry's broken leg with the door. At his two month checkup, Jerry's doctor is furious that Jerry's leg has shown no signs of healing. His doctor determines that Kramer is the cause of this delay in progress and recommends that Jerry work part time for the next two months.

Jerry goes back to the Disability Office and says he needs to start working half days. The head of the office agrees, but is frustrated by the whole thing, and does nothing more with the request.

Part II

George only received minor scratches from the collision. Being cautious, he decided to go to the doctors anyway. While at the doctor, George asked for information on some cosmetic surgery he had been thinking about. He does not like the current shape of his nose and has always dreamed of having surgery to change it.

To get the surgery done, George will have to take 2 weeks off of work. George has plenty of paid time available to cover the two week period. He puts in the required notice to use his PTO time and has the surgery performed.

A week goes by and George begins to start feeling a little off. He starts experiencing sharp pains in the area around his nose, and has a fever for days. George goes to the doctor, who takes one look at his nose and knows something went horribly wrong. He orders George to immediately go to the hospital for

inpatient care. The doctor suspects George will have to remain in the hospital for at least 6 weeks as a result of the complications during his surgery.

George is currently employed by the New York Metropolitans, a professional baseball team. The team has over 500 employees. George has worked there full-time for 2 years.

The doctors perform a number of tests on George at the hospital. They find that George has a previously undiagnosed condition that requires a bone marrow transplant. If he does not get this transplant, George can face long term health issues and even death.

George and Jerry are exact blood matches, so George asks Jerry if he would be willing to give him a transplant. After unsuccessfully trying to find an alternative source, Jerry agrees to donate bone marrow to George.

A doctor determines that Jerry will need 3 days off in total for the surgery. Jerry once again goes back to the head of the Disability Office and informs her of his need to take time off to help his friend. She approves the leave again without talking to anyone else at the Laugh Factory.

Case Study 3:

Part I

Claire, Phil and their son Luke live in sunny Southern California. Luke is typically an energetic young child. However, over the past month, Luke has felt fatigued, had a constant fever, suffered from chills and night sweats, and lost 10 pounds. Thinking it was just the flu, his parents took him to the doctor so that Luke could be prescribed medicine. After a number of tests, Luke was diagnosed with Leukemia and needed immediate treatment. The doctor said that over the next 12 weeks Luke would need constant care.

Phil and Claire decided Phil would put in a request to take time off to care for Luke. Phil works as a real estate agent for an agency that employs 200 people. He has worked there for over 10 years as a fulltime employee. Phil submitted a request for 12 weeks off, which was instantly approved.

Luke's treatment progressed slower than expected. At the end of the 12 weeks, the doctor determined that Luke has to spend more time in treatment. Phil does not report to work on his return date. After 3 missed days of work, he received a formal letter from the Leave Department informing him that he had used up all of his FMLA leave, and that if he does not report to work immediately, he will be fired.

Claire agreed to request time off so that Phil can avoid termination. She currently works as a manager at a closet emporium. She has only worked there for a year, but has worked 1300 hours in the last year. The company has around 200 employees. The Human Resource Department handles FMLA leave requests. After hearing her story, Claire's request is approved with little difficulty.

After an additional 10 weeks, Luke enters remission and is able to go back to school. Claire is able to go back to work. Two weeks after Claire returns to work, Luke's class is scheduled to go on a field trip to the natural history museum. Last year when the school went to this museum, Luke tried to take home a souvenir by pulling a bone out of a dinosaur skeleton, causing it to collapse. As a result, the school will only allow Luke to go on the field trip if one of his parents chaperones. Claire agrees to be a chaperone.

Instead of going to HR, Claire requests time off for the field trip from her supervisor. She makes this request a week in advance. The supervisor, recognizing that California has a funky new law that requires employers to provide employees time off to attend school functions, approves the leave.

Part II

Phil is agitated by the way his employer handled his leave; in the two months since his return to work, he has been experiencing severe migraines. Both the severity and frequency of his migraines have been increasing. Now when a migraine hits, Phil is unable to concentrate and becomes sensitive to light. He has to lie down until the migraine passes.

Phil decided to go see a doctor. The doctor determined these migraines are a result of stress from work. Phil has received two major projects at work since his return, which have been weighing heavily on him.

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