Freelain v. Village of Oak Park: Next Stop, Rocket Science

In Freelain v. Village of Oak Park, 16-4074 (7th Cir. Apr. 30, 2018), the Seventh Circuit rejected Rasul Freelain's contention that the defendant retaliated against him for asserting his rights under the FMLA (and ADA) by misclassifying leave he took as sick leave rather than administrative leave. The court reasoned that since an employer is not required under the FMLA or ADA to provide paid leave and can count leave taken against accumulated sick leave, merely providing an employee the opportunity to take the leave he was already entitled to take was not retaliatory, absent some evidence that the employer deviated from its normal policies and failed to provide administrative leave because the employee had asserted his statutory rights.

In other words, if you get all you're entitled to under the law, you can't allege that the employer retaliated against you for not giving you more. Not exactly rocket science.








This blog reflects the views solely of its author. It is not intended, and should not be regarded, as legal advice on how to analyze any particular set of facts.