When most HR leaders picture FMLA retaliation, they think of a termination letter. But it can also come disguised as a “choice”— resign or be fired. That’s what the DOL said happened at the University of Tennessee, where an employee on approved intermittent leave was told exactly that. The DOL recovered $30,442 in back wages.
The risk often begins with how managers respond during approved leave. This case shows how quickly that crosses a line.
According to the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division, the University of Tennessee violated federal law by forcing an employee to resign after they requested FMLA leave for a qualifying condition.
The employee was on approved intermittent leave when the employer told them to submit a resignation or face termination, federal investigators said.
Investigators also found the university failed to provide the employee with “its complete policy that provided information about employee rights” under the FMLA.
The DOL recovered $30,442 in back wages for the affected employee.
“Qualifying leave is established by law, and employers cannot simply deprive eligible workers of their legal right to family and medical leave and force them to make the hard choice between keeping their jobs and caring for themselves or their families,” said Lisa Kelly, Wage and Hour Division District Director in Nashville, TN.
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