Allyson Burke

Here is how one employee spent an FMLA day off for a serious health condition:

· Lunch at a restaurant

· A peppermint mocha at a drive-thru

· Haircut and coloring

· A holiday party

· Drinks at a cantina

This would seem to be an open-and-shut case for an employee’s termination of employment. For the employer in Hyldahl v. Michigan Bell Telephone Co., the result was very different: judgment for the former employee. The employer’s bill was more than $270,000 in actual damages, $110,000 in attorney fees and another $135,000 in liquidated damages, which are paid when an employer’s actions are unreasonable. Thus, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court ruling of more than half a million dollars!

How did things go so wrong?

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