Employer to Pay Double Damages in FMLA Suit

When an employee takes leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), the employee is expected to specify a return-to-work date. If the employee fails to come back to work following the leave, as a general matter, the employer may terminate the wayward employee.

However, employers must be careful about acting too swiftly. The consequences of a premature termination can be quite significant, as a Virginia employer recently found out when a Virginia federal court awarded over $700,000 to a wrongfully terminated employee.

An article discussing the case, Perry v. Isle of Wight County, by DiMuroGinsberg attorney, Jayna Genti, appears in the October, 2017 issue of the Virginia Employment Law Letter. The article explores the facts that gave rise to the lawsuit as well as the rationale of the court in deciding to award the plaintiff double damages for the employer’s unreasonable conduct.

If you would like to obtain a copy of the article entitled “Employer Hit With Bad Faith Double Damages in FMLA Suit,” please contact Michele Kraftschik at mkraftschik@dimuro.com.

Avoiding ADA Accommodation Mistakes

There continues to be an increase in workplace accommodation requests by individuals with disabilities. Where a disabled individual requests a workplace accommodation, the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) requires employers to respond to the request and attempt to accommodate an individual’s disability.

Recently, DiMuroGinsberg partner, Jonathan R. Mook, was quoted in an article in the October, 2017 issue of HR Magazine about the various steps that employers should follow in managing ADA accommodation requests. As Jonathan observed, “employers are seeing more requests, and they are taking them more seriously.” This is because, as Jonathan explains, to litigate an ADA accommodation claim usually “will cost ten to twenty times the amount that it would have cost the employer” to implement a reasonable request. Additionally, an employer should designate one person or unit in the HR department to receive and manage all accommodation requests. As Jonathan advises, such requests, “should not be handled ad hoc by a supervisor.”

If you would like to obtain a copy of the article entitled “Trust the Process,” by Jennifer Arnold, please contact Jonathan at jmook@dimuro.com.

DiMuroGinsberg awarded 12 “Best Law Firms” rankings

We are pleased to announce that DiMuroGinsberg has received 12 practice area rankings on the 2018 “Best Law Firms” list published by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers®.

National Awards:

Tier 3

  • Commercial Litigation
  • Real Estate Law

Metropolitan Washington DC Awards

Tier 1

  • Commercial Litigation
  • Criminal Defense: General Practice
  • Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law
  • Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs

Tier 2

  • Criminal Defense: White-Collar
  • Real Estate Law

Tier 3

  • Business Organizations (Including LLCs and Partnerships)
  • Corporate Law
  • Employment Law – Management
  • Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants

Firms included in the 2018 “Best Law Firms” list are recognized for professional excellence with persistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. Achieving a ranking signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise.

For further information about the Best Law Firms designations and to view our clients’ comments, visit our page at www.bestlawyers.com.

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