Takeaway: An employer should consistently follow its policies regarding employee attendance and scheduling. When an employer bends the rules on some occasions but not others, an employee disciplined for a violation may claim discrimination.
An employee who violated a paid-time-off (PTO) policy was not retaliated against for time off due to her disabilities, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.
In 2017, Brooks Life Science Inc. hired the plaintiff, a Black woman who had multiple sclerosis and sciatica, as a part-time receptionist and administrative assistant. None of her conditions interfered with her ability to perform the essential functions of her role at Brooks, which included letting people into the premises, greeting visitors, scheduling conference rooms and ordering supplies. She worked about 25 hours per week, usually from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
One of the plaintiff's early supervisors nominated her for an award and gave her a gift for her hard work. However, in March 2018, Brooks hired a new supervisor who praised her performance, but also coached her on her failure to abide by Brooks' PTO policy.
The PTO policy required employees to request prior approval from their supervisors for planned time off and to enter the PTO hours that they used in the company's payroll software. The new supervisor, however, required employees only to request and enter PTO for schedule changes of 30 minutes or more in duration. Also, for unplanned time off, employees could switch...
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