Abstract
A model employee's undiagnosed stress disorder erupts one morning when a stray dog enters her worksite through an open window, there ensues a two-week cycle of absences, doctors’ visits, recurring bouts of screaming at the workplace and an order that the employee be locked out of her office and fired. The employee sues under the FMLA, claiming that she was fired instead of being granted needed medical leave. The district court granted the employer summary judgment, finding, that Stevenson never gave the employer notice that leave might be required.

Stevenson v. Hyre Electric Company - FMLA This is a very confusing case, but it is very clear to me that the Plaintiff was in error of an amiable decision on this case. The fact of not providing the correct notice of FMLA in the allotted time was definitely the key in this case, had Stevenson provided the required documents, she would have won the judgment and there would have been no room for question. There is room for some doubt regarding this decision, however; it still goes back to the fact that she did not follow the proper protocol as required by the Defendant.
Stray Animal Causes Disturbance In Workplace The Plaintiff was going through her usual duties when a dog got into the office through an open window. The presence of the animal in the workplace caused the Plaintiff to start to act in an unusual manner (jumping around, shouting, etc.) she got a headache, felt blood rushing to her head, and her neck tightening up, as a result of this incident the Plaintiff stated that she did not feel well and had to leave for the day. She called in sick the next day as well. In the next few weeks that came, she got into a screaming match with President of the Company (Charles Guest) regarding the incident and continued to miss work – complaining that she was ill. The days that she did come in to work she would have outbursts of aggression. The incident was discussed with the Plaintiff’s Union Representative and she also filed an OSHA complaint regarding the incident. The Company became concerned with her behavior, although previous to the animal incident the Plaintiff was a model employee, they notified her that she had no paid leave left and that she needed to submit a medical certification in a week to be eligible for FMLA, or she would be terminated for unexcused absences. The Plaintiff continued to call in, two days before the deadline she obtained a note excusing her absences for the past two weeks but it did not define her illness in detail. She passed the note to her Union representative to send it on to her Employer.
Don’t Return To Work
The day of her deadline, she tried to return to her job, only to discover that the Defendant had changed the locks. The President told her to leave and she obliged. The President contacted the Union and told that that the Plaintiff’s doctor’s note was insufficient for her return. The Representative also requested that the Defendant state his reasons in writing as to why the first medical certificate was unacceptable, and they never obliged this request. The Plaintiff submitted a second medical statement that stated she was unable to return to work until the deadline date (February 25) that was the last that the Plaintiff heard from the Defendant, thereby never returning to work. Two weeks later passed and she finally received a correspondence from the Company stating she was relieved of her duties. The Plaintiff decided to sue claiming her FMLA rights were violated. The Defendant retaliated that this was not the case, because she never properly notified them of her need to take FMLA.
Appeals Court Issues The Federal appeals court found flaws in the judgment of the Circuit Court, and made a ruling that the Plaintiff’s strange behavior should have been a hint that something was wrong with her and they could have put her on a probable basis for FMLA, however; the employee is still held responsible for providing the necessary paperwork to justify reason. The Federal Court of Appeals states that “clear abnormalities” in an employee’s behavior can justify notice of serious health condition, whereby the employee should request the additional information needed to confirm the entitlement. Stevenson v. Hyre Electric Co., (2007) Because of her reaction to the stray animal incident, it could signify that she had a serious mental condition, which would have to be decided by a trial jury. REFERENCES

Heathfield, Susan M. (2012) How to Write, Implement, and Integrate A Policy, Retrieved from http://humanresources.about.com/od/policiesandsamples1/a/how_to_policy_2.htm

Walsh, D. J. (2010). Employment law for human resource practice (3rd ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning.

STEVENSON, Beverly, Plaintiff—Appellants, v. HYRE ELECTRIC CO., Defendant-Appellee, No. 06-3501. – United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit (2007)

The Employee’s Guide to the Family and Medical Leave Act . United States Department of Labor – Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Retrieved from http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/employeeguide.htm

2300 Family and Medical Leave
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides for leave without pay and certain benefits protection. The detailed policy governing Hyre Electric Company employees is in Section 12: FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE of the Hyre Electric Company Personnel Regulation Manual.

PROCEDURES TO REQUEST FMLA:

|ACTOR |ACTION |
|SUPERVISOR OR EMPLOYEE | Notifies Human Resources within two business days of becoming aware of the need to use |
| |FMLA leave |
| | |
| |Notifies employee that absence will be designated as FMLA time and will be counted |
|HUMAN RESOURCES |against the 12-week entitlement, if the employee’s illness is a qualifying event. |
| | |
| |Explains to employee that policy requires the employee to exhaust all applicable paid |
| |leave (i.e., sick time, family sick time, vacation and or compensatory leave) before |
| |qualifying for UNPAID FMLA (NOTE: THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO FMLA LEAVE ASSOCIATED WITH A |
| |WORKER’S COMP INJURY). |
| | |
| |Verifies employee’s eligibility for FMLA leave. |
| | |
| |If eligible, processes FMLA documents by prescribed method. |
| | |
| |Family Medical Leave Application |
| |Notice of Eligibility and Rights and Responsibilities |
| |Certification of Health Care Provider for Employee’s Serious Health Condition |
| |Family and Medical Leave Designation Notice |
| |FMLA Employee Checklist |
| |Insurance Coverage Statement for Continuous Unpaid FMLA |
| | |
| |Mail documents or arranges meeting |
| |with Employee to complete forms. Completes documents prescribed and provides appropriate|
| |signatures. Returns to HR if processing via mail. Monitors return of Family Medical |
| |Leave Application and Insurance Coverage Statement for Continuous Unpaid FMLA. Upon |
| |receipt and completion of forms, verifies data and signatures. |
| | |
| |Submits copy of FMLA Application to Payroll Accountant and Statement for Continuous |
| |Unpaid FMLA to Benefits Representative. |
| | |
| |Reviews Certification of Health Care Provider for Employee’s Serious Health Condition to |
| |determine if illness is a qualifying event. Completes Family and Medical Leave |
| |Designation Notice indicating approval and required action or disapproval of FMLA. |
| | |
| |Periodically determine if recertification is necessary. |
|HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICE (Cont’d) | |
| |During period of FMLA leave, completes timesheet indicating use of accrued leave and |
| |simultaneous use of FMLA leave by indicating number of hours in the “Other column and |
| |coding the time as “S” or “V” time. |
| | |
| |If all leave is exhausted indicate FMLA leave only. |
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|SUPERVISOR | |

IMPLEMENTATION The proposed policy will be introduced in a called Mandatory Employee Staffing, presented by the Human Resources (HR) department, and level Management heads. At that time the policy will be handed out to each employee for review and discussion. There will be period for questions after the policy is introduced, at that time each employee will sign and date the Acknowledgement page indicating that the policy was discussed and is understood. The HR Clerical will make two copies of the signed proposed policy – one will be given to the employee, one given to their Manager and the original will be filed in their personnel record in HR. If the policy is adopted by the Board in their monthly meeting it will take effect around November 1, 2012. The policy will become a part of Section in the Personnel Handbook; any new employees who gain employment with the company will be introduced to the policy, and given a copy after they sign it in New Employee Orientation (NEO). This policy will also be on the Employee Intranet site, along with Direct Deposit and other personnel information and can be accessed once the employee types in his/her User code and password.