Ordinarily, employers can require employees to notify their boss if they anticipate having to miss work. Call-off rules can apply to all workers, including those with FMLA serious health conditions and ADA disabilities. For example, you can insist that an employee with an FMLA intermittent-leave certification for a chronic serious health condition call off just like everyone else.

But there’s an exception for those times when the employee simply can’t make that call because of their disability or serious health condition. Always double-check and consider the circumstances before making a final discipline or termination decision based on an employee’s failure to call. 

Recent case: Tonya, a Hardee’s restaurant manager, has diabetes and must take insulin shots during the workday. Her employer knew about her condition.

The company had a call-off process that required employees to report an anticipated absence at least two hours before the beginning of a scheduled shift. In addition, employees were not allowed to leave a shift early without notifying management.

After violating the rules for two scheduled shifts, Tonya faced discharge if she missed another shift without following the call-off rule.

Then Tonya woke up one day before her shift feeling disoriented and discovered her blood-sugar level was low. She managed to find her way to her doctor’s office, where she remained groggy and confused. She did not call off. Hardee’s discovered she had missed the shift when a customer called to complain that the restaurant wasn’t open.

Tonya was fired for violating the call-off policy despite an intervening request for FMLA leave to treat out-of-control low blood sugar.

Tonya sued, claiming her health crisis made it impossible for her to call off. In court, Hardee’s relied on a long-standing presumption that allows employers to punish employees who violate call-off rules even if the underlying reason may be disability-related. The trial court tossed out Tonya’s case.

However, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated it. The court reasoned that in a case such as this one, the employer must consider whether circumstances prevented someone with an FMLA serious health condition or an ADA disability from complying with the call-off procedure. (Huber v. Westar Foods, 8th Cir., 2024)

Ordinarily, employers can require employees to notify their boss if they anticipate having to miss work. Call-off rules can apply to all workers, including those with FMLA serious health conditions and ADA disabilities. For example, you can insist that an employee with an FMLA intermittent-leave certification for a chronic serious health condition call off just like everyone else.

But there’s an exception for those times when the employee simply can’t make that call because of their disability or serious health condition. Always double-check and consider the circumstances before making a final discipline or termination decision based on an employee’s failure to call. 

Recent case: Tonya, a Hardee’s restaurant manager, has diabetes and must take insulin shots during the workday. Her employer knew about her condition.

The company had a call-off process that required employees to report an anticipated absence at least two hours before the beginning of a scheduled shift. In addition, employees were not allowed to leave a shift early without notifying management.

After violating the rules for two scheduled shifts, Tonya faced discharge if she missed another shift without following the call-off rule.

Then Tonya woke up one day before her shift feeling disoriented and discovered her blood-sugar level was low. She managed to find her way to her doctor’s office, where she remained groggy and confused. She did not call off. Hardee’s discovered she had missed the shift when a customer called to complain that the restaurant wasn’t open.

Tonya was fired for violating the call-off policy despite an intervening request for FMLA leave to treat out-of-control low blood sugar.

Tonya sued, claiming her health crisis made it impossible for her to call off. In court, Hardee’s relied on a long-standing presumption that allows employers to punish employees who violate call-off rules even if the underlying reason may be disability-related. The trial court tossed out Tonya’s case.

However, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated it. The court reasoned that in a case such as this one, the employer must consider whether circumstances prevented someone with an FMLA serious health condition or an ADA disability from complying with the call-off procedure. (Huber v. Westar Foods, 8th Cir., 2024)

P.O. Box 9070, McLean, VA 22102-0070 (800) 543-2055 

Copyright © 2024 Business Management Daily. All rights reserved.