Second Circuit Analyzes Scope of Material Adverse Employment Actions in a Family Medical Leave Act Retaliation Claim
Written by Michael Arnold
Last week, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Millea v. Metro-North R.R. Co., --- F.3d ----, 2011 WL 3437513 (2d Cir. Aug. 8, 2011), found that a “material adverse employment action” in the context of a Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) retaliation claim need not be all that “material” .
The FMLA entitles eligible employees to take unpaid, job-protected leave for certain family and medical reasons and prohibits employers from retaliating against an employee exercising their FMLA rights. In Millea, the plaintiff claimed his employer retaliated against him by, among other things, issuing a formal reprimand after he took medical leave to recover from a panic attack.
