Labor & Employment Developments
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The Sixth Circuit recently reiterated that an employer’s internal investigation, standing alone, does not constitute “adverse employment action” under Title VII. Kuhn v. Washtenaw County, 296 F.3d 404 (6th Cir., March 11, 2013).
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The Sixth Circuit recently affirmed that a plaintiff’s failure to return to work from a family medical leave on the due date established by her employer justified summary judgment in favor of the employer on the employee’s claim of associational discrimination under the ADA. The plaintiff’s dispute as to her return date was immaterial, and did not prevent summary judgment for the employer, because plaintiff admitted in deposition that she would not have returned by the date she asserted she was due back at work. Bimberg v. Elkton-Pigeon- Bay Port Laker Schools, 6th Cir. No. 12-1311, 2013 WL 174289 (Jan. 17, 2013).
Plaintiff Bimberg was a school bus driver who took a family medical leave to care for her terminally ill husband. Bimberg’s employer initially granted her the FMLA-mandated 12 weeks of unpaid leave. Therafter, Bimberg’s union representative was able to secure for her leave from the beginning of the approaching new school semester, January 5, 2009, until the end of the school year in early June 2009. However, Bimberg later determined that she needed to leave before the start of the new semester, and that she would be away for more than 12 weeks. Ultimately, her employer granted her unpaid leave of one year, from December 18, 2008, through December 18, 2009.
Labor & Employment Developments 