In a case recently decided by the Fifth Circuit, an employee was approved for FMLA intermittent leave and was required to contact the internal General Motors (GM) Absence Call in Line at least 30 minutes prior to his start time, and the external FMLA leave call line by the end of the normally scheduled work shift.

The employee failed to call the FMLA leave line a number of times and he was subject to discipline under GM’s attendance policy. The employee was placed on unpaid suspension from work. The employee continued to work for GM and brought suit to recover damages for the unpaid suspensions.

The court concluded that the employee was properly subject to discipline for these absences. The employee testified that his disability caused him to experience disorientation and blackouts. The court found that the employee presented no evidence that he was experiencing these symptoms on the days that he failed to call the FMLA leave line.  Acker v. General Motors, LLC (5th Cir. 4/10/17)