FMLA doesn't prohibit termination for failure to comply with call-in requirements

Employees can be held accountable for not complying with an employer's call-in notice requirement, even when the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) may apply. In a recent case, the employer had an attendance policy requiring employees to notify their supervisor at least two hours before their shift started if they would be absent. The failure to call in was a "no-call/no-show." Two no-call/no-show events resulted in termination.

Attendance policy violations result in nurse's termination

Amity Koch, a nurse employed by the Thames Healthcare Group, LLC, worked at a nursing home in Bowling Green, Kentucky. She had a history of attendance issues and was counseled on her absenteeism before eventually being placed on a 30-day probation period.

On Monday, August 14, 2017, Koch was scheduled to start working at 7:00 a.m. At 7:24am, she let her supervisor know she had a doctor's appointment for a wrist injury and would be in afterward. She never reported to work.

Koch didn't show up for work the next day, either. Her phone records showed a one-minute call just before her shift started. She told the supervisor she wouldn't be in for the rest of the week and gave no reason for her absence. Because she missed two consecutive shifts without calling in, the supervisor prepared the termination papers but held off submitting them to HR.