Volvo Group North America Retaliated, Discriminated Against Employee Over FMLA-Protected Absences, Class Action Alleges

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A 15-year Volvo Group North America employee alleges in a proposed class action that the automaker has overstepped the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and retaliated and discriminated against those who’ve taken legally protected leaves of absence.

According to the 13-page lawsuit, the plaintiff was hired by Volvo in 2005 as an assembler and has consistently performed his work satisfactorily, meeting or exceeding the defendant’s legitimate business expectations of him. Despite his exemplary work record, however, Volvo has interfered with the plaintiff’s rights under federal law by categorizing his FMLA-protected leaves as unexcused absences for which the man has been demoted and ruled out of available promotions and other forms of career advancement, the suit alleges.

The case shares that the plaintiff’s wife suffers from an array of serious health conditions, ranging from degenerative disc disease, arthritis and chronic hypertension to anxiety, osteoarthritis, spinal stenosis and coronary artery disease. Given the fact the plaintiff’s wife’s medical conditions impair several of her daily activities and require continuing treatment and frequent in-office doctor’s appointments, the maladies qualify as “serious health conditions” within the meaning of the FMLA, the lawsuit attests.

After the plaintiff informed his supervisors sometime in 2017 of his wife’s medical issues, his request for intermittent FMLA leave to care for his wife was approved, and later re-approved in 2018, the case says. The lawsuit alleges, however, that the plaintiff’s supervisors “hold a discriminatory animus against accommodating” the man and “have been resistant to his use of FMLA Leave.” 

“As a result, [the plaintiff’s] Volvo supervisors have targeted [the plaintiff], discriminated, and retaliated against him, and treated him unfavorably for exercising the substantive FMLA rights to which he is entitled, thus interfering with [the plaintiff’s] use of FMLA leave,” the complaint claims, alleging the automaker has “responded similarly” to other employees who’ve sought FMLA-protected leave in an attempt to discourage the practice. 

In January 2019, a Volvo plant supervisor directed other supervisory employees to categorize FMLA leave as “personal business leave,” the case says, specifying that the distinction renders FMLA leave as unexcused, “chargeable” hours and potentially opens employees up to discipline for attendance infractions. Per the suit, disciplinary issues can harm a worker’s eligibility for a promotion and lead to possible termination. 

The lawsuit argues Volvo’s plant-wide directive recategorizing FMLA leave stands in contrast to both the law and the automaker’s own attendance policy, which states, in part, that hours of absences for a specified list of reasons are not considered chargeable in an employee’s attendance record, including approved FMLA leave

“Accordingly, Volvo’s decision to unlawfully categorize FMLA leave as nonprotected ‘personal business’ absences has resulted in unwarranted disciplinary actions against [the plaintiff], and others similarly situated,” the complaint asserts.

The suit goes on to claim the plaintiff was “unfairly chastised” in January 2019 for inquiring about his FMLA leave, and received a written warning the following month due to his use of a protected absence. The case relays the plaintiff fears his “improperly documented” absences from Volvo will further harm his eligibility for career advancement opportunities and ultimately lead to his termination. 

According to the complaint, the man has stopped using his FMLA leave to take his wife to doctor’s appointments, causing a gap in her medical care given she cannot attend the visits unassisted. 

The lawsuit looks to cover all current and former Volvo employees at the Dublin, Virginia plant who, at any time in the last three years, had their FMLA rights interfered with by the automaker and have been exposed to retaliation/discrimination based upon requests for or use of FMLA-protected leave.

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