Third Circuit finds that plaintiff's termination following her failure to execute an offer letter and non-compete agreement was insufficient to sustain an FMLA claim.

The plaintiff was informed that her position would be eliminated, and she began interviewing for a new position with the company.  Eventually, the plaintiff was offered a new position and informed that she needed to execute an offer letter and non-compete agreement for that new position.  However, the plaintiff was continuing to negotiate an increased salary and did not execute the documents as requested.  The plaintiff then requested (and was granted) approximately two weeks of leave under the FMLA for anxiety-related issues.  While the plaintiff was on leave, the company again requested that she provide the executed documents and informed her that, if she did not provide the executed documents by a certain date, the company would revoke the offer and proceed with the termination of her employment.  The plaintiff never provided the executed offer letter or non-compete agreement, and her employment was terminated as a result.  Following her termination, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit, alleging that the company interfered with her rights under the FMLA by requiring her to perform work-related tasks while on leave and terminated her employment in retaliation for exercising her rights under the FMLA.  In upholding the dismissal of her claims, the Third Circuit expressly noted that "[t]here is no evidence that [the company's] requirement that she sign the forms or the consequences for failing to do so arose because she took leave," particularly because she "knew that she needed to sign the forms well before she invoked her FMLA rights."  Moreover, the Third Circuit further noted the company's "[d]e minimus contacts did not require [plaintiff] to perform work to benefit the company and did not materially interfere with her leave," as there "is no right in the FMLA to be 'left alone,' and be completely absolved of responding to the employer's discrete inquiries."

Case Law Alerts, 3rd Quarter, July 2014