Adjust job expectations for employees on FMLA leave

An employee’s performance is measured by the amount of work done. Fair enough. The employee takes Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave. Must the metrics of performance measurement be adjusted as a result? Earlier this year, by a 2-to-1 vote, a federal appeals court gave an emphatic “yes” in response.

High-pressure job

Marianne Wayland worked for OSF Healthcare System, which was on an acquisition binge gobbling up other healthcare providers. Her job was to integrate the new employees into OSF. It was a big task with high expectations and the responsibility of supervising 30 employees.

These events intersected with her need to take FMLA leave, both continuous (one month) and intermittent (one to two days per week). The leave resulted in her taking leave for 20% of her full-time work period, but the company laid down the law: You have “no choice” but to keep pace with our accelerated acquisition schedule.

The employees in Wayland’s department felt the heat of the mounting stress, complaining to Human Resources (HR) about the workload and her management style. She was put on a performance improvement plan but wasn’t told her job was in jeopardy. In fact, she was actually meeting most of OSF’s expectations, only falling somewhat short. Ultimately, she was fired two months after she stopped taking FMLA leave and a month after the start of the performance plan.