Florida Company in Trouble for Firing Employees for Using FMLA Leave

CSX Transportation is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit filed May 7 on behalf of several employees. A group of former workers is accusing the company of baselessly firing workers for purportedly abusing the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) during holidays and weekends. In other words, the company is accused of retaliating against workers who use FMLA time in violation of federal law.

According to the case, Click, et. al. v. CSX Transportation, 7 named plaintiffs said they took intermittent FMLA leave for serious health conditions, but that CSX allegedly assessed them more leave than they took by calculating their leave in increments of a day rather than increments of an hour.

CSX is also accused of discriminating against employees through a policy that allowed workers to expunge negative review points for absences if they had uninterrupted attendance, but not if they missed work during that period for FMLA leave, the complaint reads.

The plaintiffs also allege that CSX fired or otherwise punished employees for taking legitimate FMLA leave on holidays or weekends or due to the accrual of points against their record. The company is further accused of engaging in a “concerted campaign to purge itself” of workers who relied on FMLA leave during weekends and holidays. This resulted in the suspension of 140 employees.

Understanding the allegations

 CSX operates a 24-hour a day, 365 days a year business. While employees are aware that employment at CSX will result in them having to work holidays and weekends, the lawsuit states that they did not anticipate having to work through illnesses, miss the birth of their children, or being forced to choose between their employment and caring for a sick loved one. The lawsuit alleges that several CSX employees have relied on FMLA time and that their employee’s lawful use of FMLA time has resulted in CSX not being able to reduce its workforce. CSX has, therefore, sought to curb its employees’ use of FMLA time in three ways. Those include:

First, CSX limits the amount of FMLA its employees can take by miscounting the actual amount of leave they are taking. By counting the amount of leave taken in terms of days instead of hours, CSX can reduce the amount of allotted FMLA time available to employees. The FMLA allows employees to take up to 12 weeks of medical leave per year.

Second, the company is accused of deterring employees from taking FMLA leave by implementing an attendance policy they call “Crew Attendance Point System” or “CAPS,” which penalizes employees for taking FMLA leave.

Third, the company is accused of deterring employees from taking FMLA leave by firing or writing up those who use FMLA leave on holidays and weekends. CSX accused 140 of its over 800 employees of dishonesty for taking leave on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, or New Year’s Day.

Talk to a Tampa, FL FMLA Attorney Today 

You cannot be fired or disciplined for taking FMLA leave. If you have been, you can sue to recover damages from your employer. Call the Tampa FMLA attorneys at Florin Gray today to schedule an appointment and learn more about how we can help.

Source:

s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24656044/us_dis_flmd_3_24cv451_d37424084e644_complaint_against_csx_transportation_inc_with_jury.pdf