NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana recently granted a printing company's motion for summary judgment in lawsuit filed by a former employee alleging her job termination violated the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), however, the court denied the company's motion regarding the woman's allegations of suffering verbal abuse.
In a Dec. 4 ruling on the motions in the lawsuit filed by Kathy Perkins against Pel Hughes Printing LLC., U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey granted the company's motion regarding Perkins' claims of violation of the FMLA and denied the company's motion regarding plaintiff's claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Court filings said Perkins worked as a human resource administrator for the printing company when she was admitted into the Ochsner Hospital’s Outpatient Behavioral Mental Unit Program as a result of alleged verbal abuse by John Hughes, the company's president.
"After being diagnosed with stress, depression and anxiety, Perkins remained in the hospital for two weeks," court filings said. Despite FMLA coverage, Hughes "allegedly called Perkins’ disabled daughter,
Aubrey Pitre, and told her that, 'unless (Perkins) comes back to work soon, I’ll have to let her go,'" court filings said.
Court filings said Perkins claimed she had to go back to work against medical advice fearing termination on Jan. 18, 2016.
Hughes stated in the document that he talked to Perkins and told her that his company would terminate her in 90 days.
Court filings said that after receiving an epidural on April 4, 2016, "Perkins experienced a mental breakdown and was admitted to Ochsner Hospital for suicidal ideations." She stayed at the hospital until April 13, 2016, and she was terminated on May 2, 2016.
"Perkins filed the instant suit alleging that defendants violated the FMLA regarding the leave she took in January 2016 and that defendants intentionally inflicted emotional distress, " the filings said.
in his ruling, Zainey sided with Pel Hughes on the FMLA issue, stating that "she (Perkins) does not specifically allege anything regarding a similarly situated employee, and she does not specifically allege or present evidence that she believes the termination was due to her FMLA leave."
On denying the company's motion regarding the emotional distress issue, Zainey said, "Defendants have made repeated requests to depose plaintiff, but she has not made herself available," adding that Perkins "shall submit to a deposition within the next 45 days, otherwise, the court will dismiss the claim without prejudice based on non-suit, upon proper motion by defendants."