Employer holds employee to FMLA certification and wins in court

As a railway worker, Jason was on call 24/7. In July 2023, Jason was approved for leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for his own health condition. His certification indicated that he needed the leave “3-4 times per month” and that the treatment required “1-2 day(s) per treatment.” The certification, however, didn’t say whether Jason needed leave on Saturday and Sunday. The employer approved Jason for “3-4 absences per month with a duration of 1-2 days per absence for appointments without weekend use.”

Despite this, Jason took FMLA leave on Saturday, September 9, and the following weekend. The employer sent Jason a letter telling him that he had taken leave inconsistent with what was approved. The letter also encouraged Jason to provide an updated certification (a recertification) if his circumstances had changed.

Jason never submitted a revised certification.

Instead, Jason took FMLA leave from Saturday, December 2, to Monday, December 4. In response, on February 7, 2024, the employer sent him another letter indicating it would conduct a disciplinary investigation concerning his failure to comply with written instructions related to his FMLA usage.

Following the investigation, the employer fired Jason for taking unapproved FMLA leave. Jason sued.

In court, the employer argued that it had instructed Jason that his FMLA approval didn’t allow weekend use, but Jason failed to follow those instructions.

Jason couldn’t show that unusual circumstances warranted his departure from the approved leave. He argued that the employer interfered with his FMLA rights by restricting his leave to weekdays and then firing him for using FMLA on weekends. Jason, however, presented no case law that suggested the employer couldn’t restrict his leave to weekdays.

Despite the opportunity to update his FMLA certification, Jason didn’t and instead continued to take leave on weekends outside of his FMLA approval.

Jason said that to attend his Monday doctor appointments, he needed to take weekends off, and his FMLA leave was specifically approved for appointments. The court didn’t buy it. It said that the employer didn’t deny Jason's FMLA approval — it conditioned the approval to weekdays.

The court ruled that it was undisputed that Jason misused his FMLA leave, and employers may take adverse employment actions against employees who do.

Brown v. BNSF Railway Company, Northern District of Texas, No. 4:24-cv-00729, June 25, 2025

Key to remember: Employers may hold employees to the leave supported by a certification, and if employees take leave outside the certification and don’t provide documentation to support it, employers can take action.