Satterfield v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

• Citation: 135 F.3d 973
• Decision Date: 25 February 1998
• Docket Number: No. 97-40135,WAL-MART,97-40135
• Parties: 135 Lab.Cas. P 33,648, 4 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 678, 12 NDLR P 81 Melanie SATTERFIELD, Plaintiff-Appellee, v.STORES, INC., Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Page 973

135 F.3d 973

135 Lab.Cas. P 33,648, 4 Wage & Hour Cas.2d

(BNA) 678,

12 NDLR P 81

Melanie SATTERFIELD, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. WAL-MART STORES, INC., Defendant-Appellant.

No. 97-40135.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

Feb. 25, 1998.

Rehearing and Suggestion for Rehearing En Banc Denied March

25, 1998.

Ned A. Stewart, Jr., Autrey & Stewart, Texarkana, AR, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Jimmy Preston Wrotenbery, Magenheim, Bateman, Robinson, Wrotenbery & Helfand, Jo Ann Collier, Hirsch, Robinson, Sheiness & Glover, Houston, TX, for Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

Before POLITZ, Chief Judge, and GARWOOD and BARKSDALE, Circuit Judges.

RHESA HAWKINS BARKSDALE, Circuit Judge:

This appeal turns on whether, under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), 29 U.S.C. § 2601, et seq., Melanie Satterfield, an "at-will" employee of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., gave adequate notice of her need for leave, because of an unforeseeable medical problem/condition (pain in side). Wal-Mart appeals a judgment in favor of Satterfield. We REVERSE and RENDER.

I.

Satterfield was employed by Wal-Mart from late 1992 until mid-1995, when Wal-Mart discharged her for excessive unexcused absences. That October, she filed this action, claiming that Wal-Mart violated the FMLA.

A jury agreed with Satterfield. It awarded her $5,000 in actual damages, but refused to assess liquidated damages.

Post-trial, the district court denied Wal-Mart's motion for judgment as a matter of law (Wal-Mart had also so moved at the close of both Satterfield's case-in-chief and all the evidence) but granted it for Satterfield, increasing the actual damages to approximately $10,000 and awarding liquidated damages of approximately $11,000. It also awarded attorney's fees and costs of approximately $29,000, and ordered Wal-Mart to reinstate Satterfield.

II.

Wal-Mart maintains that it should have been granted judgment as a matter of law on three independent bases, claiming that Satterfield failed to prove: adequate notice for leave under the Act; the requisite "serious health condition", as defined by the Act; and discrimination, because her excessive unexcused absences are a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for her discharge. Alternatively, it challenges the sufficiency of the evidence of damages, the constitutionality of the increase in the actual damages award, the award of liquidated damages, the reinstatement order, and the attorney's fee award.

Because we conclude that, as a matter of law, Satterfield's notice of the need for FMLA leave was inadequate, we do not address the other issues.

A.

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 was enacted because Congress found, inter alia, "inadequate job security for employees who have serious health conditions that prevent them from working for temporary periods". 29 U.S.C. § 2601(a)(4). The purposes of the Act include "balanc[ing] the demands of the workplace with the needs of families" and "entitl[ing] employees to take reasonable leave for medical reasons". 29 U.S.C. § 2601(b)(1) & (2). However, the FMLA seeks to accomplish these purposes "in a manner that accommodates the legitimate interests of employers". 29 U.S.C. § 2601(b)(3); see also 29 C.F.R. § 825.101(b) ("The enactment of the FMLA was predicated on two fundamental concerns--the needs of the American workforce, and the development of high-performance organizations.").

The Act applies to private-sector employers of 50 or more employees. 29 U.S.C. § 2611(4). And, an employee is "eligible" for FMLA leave if she has worked for a covered employer for at least 1,250 hours during the preceding 12 months. 29 U.S.C. § 2611(2). It is undisputed that Wal-Mart is a covered employer and Satterfield, an eligible employee.

An eligible employee is entitled to 12 work-weeks of leave in a 12-month period because of, inter alia, a "serious health condition" that results in the employee's inability to perform her job requirements. 29 U.S.C. § 2612(a). At the conclusion of a qualified leave period, the employee is entitled to reinstatement to her former position, or to an equivalent one, with the same terms and benefits. 29 U.S.C. § 2614(a). The FMLA makes it "unlawful for any employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of or the attempt to exercise, any right provided under" the Act. 29 U.S.C. § 2615(a).

In determining whether an employee's leave request qualifies for FMLA protection, the employer must assess whether the request is based on a "serious health condition", and, for that purpose, may request supporting medical documentation. 29 U.S.C. § 2613; 29 C.F.R. § 825.302(c). The Act defines a "serious health condition" as "an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves[:] (A) inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility; or (B) continuing treatment by a health care provider." 29 U.S.C. § 2611(11).

One of the regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor (approximately two months before Satterfield's discharge) defines a "serious health condition" as

an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves:

(1) Inpatient care (i.e., an overnight stay) in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility, including any period of incapacity (for purposes of this section, defined to mean inability to work, attend school or perform other regular daily activities due to the serious health condition, treatment therefor, or recovery therefrom), or any subsequent treatment in connection with such inpatient care; or

(2) Continuing treatment by a health care provider....

29 C.F.R. § 825.114(a) (emphasis in original).

The regulation goes on to state that "continuing treatment by a health care provider" includes, in pertinent part:

(i) A period of incapacity (i.e., inability to work, attend school or perform other regular daily activities due to the serious health condition, treatment therefor, or recovery therefrom) of more than three consecutive calendar days, and any subsequent treatment or period of incapacity relating to the same condition, that also involves:

(A) Treatment two or more times by a health care provider, by a nurse or physician's assistant under direct supervision of a health care provider, or by a provider of health care services (e.g., physical therapist) under orders of, or on referral by, a health care provider; or

(B) Treatment by a health care provider on at least one occasion which results in a regimen of continuing treatment under the supervision of the health care provider.

29 C.F.R. § 825.114(a)(2)(i) (emphasis in original).

When the need for FMLA leave is foreseeable, an employee must provide her employer with no less than 30 days advance notice. (The type notice considered "advance" notice is a subissue here, as discussed in Part II. C.) If, however, leave is for the birth of a child or the placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care and must begin in less than 30 days, "the employee shall provide such notice as is practicable." 29 U.S.C. § 2612(e)(1) & (2)(B); see also 29 C.F.R. § 825.302.

On the other hand, the Act is silent as to notice requirements when, as in this case, the need for leave is unforeseeable. But, the regulations address this question:

(a) When the approximate timing of the need for leave is not foreseeable, an employee should give notice to the employer of the need for FMLA leave as soon as practicable under the facts and circumstances of the particular case. It is expected that an employee will give notice to the employer within no more than one or two working days of learning of the need for leave, except in extraordinary circumstances where such notice is not feasible. In the case of a medical emergency requiring leave because of an employee's own serious health condition or to care for a family member with a serious health condition, written advance notice pursuant to an employer's internal rules and procedures may not be required when FMLA leave is involved.

(b) The employee should provide notice to the employer either in person or by telephone, telegraph, facsimile ("fax") machine or other electronic means. Notice may be given by the employee's spokesperson (e.g., spouse, adult family member or other responsible party) if the employee is unable to do so personally. The employee need not expressly assert rights under the FMLA or even mention the FMLA, but may only state that leave is needed. The employer will be expected to obtain any additional required information through informal means. The employee or spokesperson will be expected to provide more information when it can readily be accomplished as a practical matter, taking into consideration the exigencies of the situation.

29 C.F.R. § 825.303 (emphasis added).

Our court has considered notice requirements for unforeseeable leave only once, in Manuel v. Westlake Polymers Corp., 66 F.3d 758 (5th Cir.1995). In that case, pursuant to the employer's "no fault" attendance policy, the employee was warned in February, July, and September 1992 that her absenteeism could result in severe disciplinary action, including termination. Id. at 760. At the end of December 1992, the employee had missed 14 days of work in the preceding three months, and was warned again that continued absenteeism could result in suspension or termination. Id.

In October 1993, the employee received permission from her supervisor to miss work on a Friday for removal of an ingrown toenail; her doctor had advised her that she could return to work the following Monday. Id. Complications developed after the procedure, and the employee contacted her supervisor on the following Monday and told him that she could not return to work because of her toe. Id. Keeping in constant contact with her employer, she missed work for more than a month. Id. After the employee...