Earlier this year, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia) issued a decision that provides employers with an important defense to some Family and Medical Leave Act interference and retaliation claims. In Shipton v. Baltimore Gas & Electric Co., the plaintiff was fired after his employer concluded that he lied about the need for FMLA leave. The Fourth Circuit concluded that at the time the termination decision was made, the employer had an "honest belief" that the plaintiff had lied about the medical reason for the leave, and that this belief served as a defense to his FMLA claims.
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court declined the plaintiff’s petition to review this decision. He argued that the honest belief defense was contrary to the language of the FMLA, and that it establishes an impossible burden for employees to prove that their employers were lying about the reasons offered for the FMLA denial. The Supreme Court did not comment on the basis for the denial, and its decision leaves the honest belief defense in place for employers in the Fourth Circuit.
This decision does not mean that employers can avoid FMLA liability by asserting unsupported and subjective claims about their mindset when the eligibility decision was made. In Shipton, the employer provided evidence that called into question the employee’s explanation about the need for leave, even if it ultimately may not have been accurate. In order to support an honest belief defense, employers will need to show an objectively reasonable basis for their conclusion. If employers can demonstrate such evidence, the Supreme Court’s decision provides a potential defense for FMLA violation claims.
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