Takeaway: Employers should process an employee's leave request relating to a potential disability even if the basis of the request is unclear. Courts may overlook deficiencies in the request like asking for leave under the FMLA when it does not apply or failing to promptly specify the length of leave requested.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a registered nurse could pursue a claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) against her hospital when it fired her after she requested Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) time off for an asthma flare-up, even though she was not eligible for FMLA leave.
The employee began working for Steward Trumbull Memorial Hospital as a registered nurse in 2002. Over the next five years, she worked in various departments until she ended up in the emergency department, where she worked from 2007 until her termination on June 2, 2017.
The plaintiff's asthma began worsening around 2013 and 2014 and was often triggered by stress and seasonal allergies, causing intermittent flare-ups and severe attacks that rendered her unable to work. She normally called in sick on days in which she had flare-ups.
The hospital maintained both a policy for FMLA leave and a policy for non-FMLA leave. Under the FMLA leave policy, an employee could receive up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year if the employee had worked at least 1,250 hours in the past year. An employee had to give the hospital 30 days' advance notice of foreseeable leave, and...
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