FMLA doesn’t promise remote work, another court rules

Under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), employers may not retaliate against employees when they ask for or take qualifying FMLA leave. The law doesn’t, however, guarantee that employees may work from home. An employee recently learned this.

Brooke was a psychologist. In 2020, she took FMLA leave from March 25 to April 14 when she came down with COVID-19. She began working from home on approximately April 15.

Around May 5, the employer notified all psychologists, including Brooke, that in-person work would resume between May 6-11. On May 11, however, Brooke told her supervisor that she couldn’t return to the office due to increased anxiety surrounding her return to the office. The employer allowed Brooke to continue to work via telehealth until June 1. By the end of May, Brooke said that, due to health concerns, she needed to either take a leave of absence or continue to work from home.

Brooke took FMLA leave from June 22 until October 16. She continued to take non-FMLA leave until January 2, 2021.

Toward the end of her leave, the employer told Brooke that her options were:

• Long-term disability,
• Return to in-person work, or
• Resignation.

Brooke asked if she could continue to work from home. The employer denied the request but offered other options.

On December 30, Brooke submitted her resignation, effective January 2. She also sued, alleging that the employer retaliated against her for taking FMLA leave.

In court, Brooke argued that the employer constructively discharged her when it refused to accommodate her request to work from home, despite other options.

The court disagreed with Brooke. It felt that the employment relationship ended not because of the FMLA leave (which had finished months before), but because Brooke didn’t want to return to in-person work. The FMLA doesn’t give employees the right to work remotely, and the court found no evidence that the employer wanted Brooke to resign.

Threkeld v. Norton Healthcare, Western District of KY, No. 3:23-cv-439, December 5, 2025

Key to remember: A growing trend shows that employees believe that employers violate the FMLA if they deny remote work. Courts are indicating, however, that the FMLA doesn’t give employees the right to work remotely.