Woman Sues Former Employer After Being Fired for Allegedly Caring for Dying Daughter

A Michigan woman has filed a Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) lawsuit against her former employer, Huntington Bank. According to her lawsuit, she was fired for taking a leave of absence to care for her dying daughter. Just days after losing her job, she was repeatedly praised in performance reviews. She then lost her daughter to cancer. The firing came as a shock to the plaintiff.

In 2024, the plaintiff took sick days and FMLA leave to care for her daughter, who was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer. According to her lawsuit, she had all the right paperwork and asked in time for FMLA leave. But just days after returning to work, the plaintiff claims her boss told her they were letting her go.

According to her lawsuit, the plaintiff claims she had repeated positive work reviews from everyone she worked with, and as a manager, she claims she led the Howell branch to be one of Huntington’s most successful branches in the country. In many cases, defense attorneys who represent corporations often advise their companies not to terminate an employee after they utilize FMLA. However, there’s no hard rule against terminating an employee who has recently taken FMLA leave.

The FMLA is a federal law which gives rights to all employees to take family and medical leave when they are sick, injured, or have an ill family member to care for. Your employer cannot retaliate against you. Employers should have a really good reason to terminate an employee who has recently come back from FMLA leave.

In many cases, employers will offer a pretense for firing an employee who has recently returned from FMLA leave. But they need a really good reason to do so.

Understanding the FMLA 

Any employee who works for an employer with 50 or more employees, as well as all private and secondary school employees, are covered for unpaid job protected leave for specific family and medical reasons. During this unpaid leave of absence, the employee is entitled to the continuation of their group health insurance under the same terms and conditions that they had before the leave. When their leave time is up or when they choose to return to work, their employer must reinstate them at their former position without reduced hours, wages, benefits, or other undesirable job duties. Employers may not fire an individual simply for taking FMLA leave.

Talk to an Atlanta GA FMLA attorney today 

The Forsythe Law Firm, LLC represents the interests of employees who have been illegally fired after taking FMLA leave. If you have lost your job or suffered any adverse job conditions after returning from FMLA leave, you may be entitled to compensation as your employer has violated your rights. Call our Atlanta employment lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we could begin discussing your next steps right away.