Does a migraine headache constitute a serious health condition under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)?
Maybe, but according to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the employee better go to the doctor first.
The FMLA is a federal law that allows eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year for certain family and medical reasons. One of the medical reasons is if an employee has a “serious health condition.”
So, let’s discuss what happened to Ephriam Rodriguez.
Rodriguez’ employer terminated him from his job as a bus operator for accruing too many negative attendance points. His final absence was was due to a migraine headache, an ailment for which he later sought FMLA leave. Despite Rodriquez’s attempt to secure FMLA leave by visiting a physician and submitting the necessary paperwork, his employer upheld his termination (Rodriguez was in a union and it challenged his termination).
Rodriguez sued alleging retaliation and interference under the FMLA. A jury found in favor of Rodriquez on the interference claim. The lower court judge granted the employer’s motion for judgment as a matter of law, overturning the jury’s verdict. Rodriguez appealed.
The main issue on appeal was whether Rodriquez’s migraines constituted a “serious health condition” under the FMLA at the time of his absence. In other words, was he really entitled to FMLA Leave at all?
In discussing the requirements for what what constitutes a “serious health condition,” the court emphasized the need for “periodic visits” to a healthcare provider. Visiting a healthcare provider at least twice a year for the health condition may qualify as “periodic visits”
Rodriguez admitted that he did not make “periodic visits” to a healthcare provider. In fact, he didn’t seek medical treatment for his migraines until after his termination. So, due to Rodriguez’s failure to meet the “periodic visits” requirement, the court found that Rodriquez did not meet the FMLA’s condition criteria because he failed to establish that he had a “chronic serious health condition” on the day he took leave. Rodriguez loses.
BOTTOM LINE
This decision illustrates the complexities with the FMLA and reminds employers to pay attention to. Among other things, the timing of medical treatment (or lack thereof) when reviewing what criteria needs to be met to establish a “chronic serious health condition.”