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w . vi ll anova . e du/thir dc ir c uit_2005/1334NOT P RE CE DE NT I AL UNI T E D S T AT E S CO UR T OF AP P E AL F O R T H E T H IR D C IR C U IT N o. 04- 2941 DAVI D W. CA L L I S ON,

A ppel l ant v. CI T Y OF P HI L ADE L P HI A,

O n A p p ea l from the U n it ed S tat es D istri ct C o u rt f o r th e E a ste rn D istric t o f P e n n sy lv a n ia ( D . C . C i vi l N o. 03- cv- 03008) D istric t Ju d g e : H o n . L e g ro m e D . D a v is Subm i tt ed Pur s uantt o T hi r d C i r cui tL A R 34. 1( a)

A pr i l 5, 2005 B E FO R E : B A R R Y , A M B R O and C O W E N , C i r cui tJ udges

( Fi l ed A pr i l 19, 2005) OP I NI ON C O W E N , C i r cui tJ udge. D avi d C al l i s on appea l s the D i s tr i ctC our t ’ s or dergr ant i ng the C i tyof Phi l adel phi a’ s m ot i on fors um m aryj udgm entand deny i ng C al l i s on’ s m ot i on forpart i al2

su m m a ryju d g m e n t. C a lli so n lim its h is a p p e a l to th e p o rtio n o f th e o rd e r re latin g to h is in ter f e re n c e c laim , an d w a iv e s h is re talia tio n c laim . (A p p e llan t’s B r. at 6 .) H e a ss e rts thatthe D i s tr i ctC our tfai l ed t o r ecogni ze thatthe enf or cementof the C i ty ’ s s i ck l eave pol i ci es agai ns thi m w hi l e he w as on l eave pur s uantt o the Fami l yand M edi cal L eave A ct , 29 U . S. C . § 2601 et s eq. (“ F M L A ” ) i n te rf

e re d w ith h is s u b s ta n tiv e F M L A ri g h ts . W e h a v e j u r i s d i c t i o n p u r s u a n tt o 2 8 U. S . C. § 1 2 9 1 a n d wi l l a f f i r m. T he fa ct s germ ane t o thi s appea l ar e undi s put ed. C al l i s on w as i ni t i al l yempl oy ed bythe C i ty ’ s O ffi ce of

Fl eetM anage m ent( “O FM ”) as a H eavyD utyM ai nt enanc e T echni ci an on February2, 1998. C al l i s on had per fec tatt endanc e i n hi s fi r s ty earof empl oym ent ; how ever , thi s r ecor d det er i or at ed. I n aboutJ anuary2000, C al l i s on w as d ia g n o s e d w ith d e e p a n x ie ty re a c tio n a n d s tr e s s , c a u s e d b ys tr e s s a t h o m e a n d a t w o rk . T haty earC al l i s on us ed tw enty - s i x, and the fol l ow i ng y earus ed tw el ve, day s of s i ck l eave . B eca us e of the s i gni fi cantamount of abs ence s , the C i typl ace d C al l i s on on a Si ck A bus e Li s ton O ct ober30, 2000. E m pl oy ees on thi s l i s tar e r equi r ed t o obt ai n m edi cal cert i fi cat i on foral l s i ck day s and ar e s ubj ectt o pr ogr es s i ve pena l t i es forvi ol at i ons of the si ck leave po l i ci es. T he O FM empl oy ee manual cont ai ns the fol l ow i ng r equi r ementforal l empl oy ees on s i ck l eave : D ur i ng r egul arw or ki ng hour s , w hen an e m pl oy ee i s hom e on

s i ck l eave , the empl oy ee mustnot i fythe appr opr i at e author i tyor d e sig n e e w h e n lea v in g h o m e a n d u p o n re tu rn . A n e m p lo y e e is to r emai n athom e exc eptforper s onal needs r el at ed t o the r eas on3 forbei ng on s i ck l eave . W hi l e on s i ck l eave an empl oy ee maybe cal l ed orvi s i t ed bya s i ck l eave i nves t i gat orunl es s the empl oy ee h a s 1 5 0 d a y s o r m o re o f a c c u m u late d sic k lea v e c re d it. (A p p . a t 1 0 9 .) O n J anuary8, 2001, w hi l e s t i l l on the Si ck A bus e Li s t , C al l i s on t ook anothers i ck day . C al l i s on nevernot i fi ed the Si ck C ontr ol H ot l i ne thathe w as l eavi ng hi s hom e, and w h en an inv esti g ator telep h o n ed h is r esid en ce h e w as n o t th ere . P u rsua n t t o the O F M ’s p o lic yh e w a s g iv e n a w a rn in g f o r t h is v io la tio n . Fol l ow i ng thi s vi ol at i on, C al l i s on w as outon appr oved FM L A l eave for appr oxi m at el ythr ee mont hs , fr om J anuary24 t o A pr i l 17, 2001. O n J anuary29 and February7, 2001, the C i tyconduct ed addi t i onal i nves t i gat i ons and found thatC al l i s on w as nothom e on thos e dat es and had f ai l ed t o not i fythe hot l i ne. I n acc or dance w i th the pr ogr es s i ve pena l t i es pol i cy , C al l i s on r ece i ved a one and thr ee da ys us pens i on, res pecti vely , for hi s fai l ures t o n oti fythe h otl i ne thathe w as l eaving h i s hom e. T hese su sp e n sio n s w e re se rv e d b yC a lli so n , o n M a y8 , 1 5 , 1 6 a n d 1 7 , 2 0 0 1 , af ter h e re tu rn e d to w or k fr om hi s FM L A l eave . W e e x erc ise p lena ryrev iew o v er a D istri ct C o u rt ’s ord er g ran ti n g su m m ary ju d g m e n t. See M

or t on I nt ’ l , I nc. v. A . E . Stal ey M

f g. C o. , 3 4 3 F . 3 d 6 6 9 , 6 7 9 (3d C ir . 2003) . Sum m aryj udgm enti s appr opr i at e i f ther e i s no i s s ue of mat er i al fac tand the m o v in g p a rt yis e n title d to ju d g m e n t a s a m a tte r o f la w . See F ed . R . C iv. P. 56 (c). In eval uat i ng the evi dence , w e “t ake the fa ct s i n the l i ghtm os tfavor abl e t o the nonmovi ng4

party. . . and dr aw al l r eas onabl e i nfer ence s i n [i t s ] favor . ” D o e v . C o u n ty o f C e n tr e , 242 F .3 d 4 3 7 , 4 4 6 (3 d C ir . 2 0 0 1 ). T he pr i m arypurpos es of the FM L A ar e t o “bal ance the demands of the w or kpl ace w i th the nee ds of fa m i l i es ” and “ t o ent i t l e empl oy ees t o t ake r eas onabl e l eave form edi cal reas on s. ” 29 U . S . C . § 2 60 1(b)( 1) and (2). T he F M L A end eavo rs t o acco m pli sh t hese purpos es “i n a mannerthatacc om m odat es the l egi t i m at e i nt er es t s of empl oy er s . ” 29 U . S . C § 2 6 0 1 (b)(3 ). T he F M L A con t ai ns t w o rel at i velydis t i nct types of provis i on s. F i rs t , i tcreat es a s er i es of pr es cr i pt i ve s ubs t ant i ve r i ght s forel i gi bl e empl oy ees , oft en r efe rr ed t o as the

“ e n title m e n t” o r “ in te rf e re n c e ” p ro v is io n s w h ic h s e t f lo o rs f o r e m p lo y e r c o n d u c t. See C hu rchi l lv. Star En t ers. , 1 8 3 F . 3 d 1 8 4 , 1 9 2 (3d C ir . 1 9 9 9 ). E l i gi bl e empl oy ees “s hal l be ent i t l ed t o a t ot al of tw el ve w or kw eeks of l eave dur i ng anytw el ve- m onth per i od” i f the empl oy ee ha s a “s er i ous heal th condi t i on thatm akes the empl oy ee una bl e t o per form t he funct i ons of the pos i t i on of s uch empl oy ee. ” 29 U . S. C . § 2612( a) ( 1) ( D ) . Fol l ow i ng a qual i fi ed abs ence , the empl oy ee i s ent i t l ed t o be r ei ns t at ed t o the form erpos i t i on oran a lte rn a te o n e w ith e q u iv a le n t p a y , b e n e f its a n d w o rk in g c o n d itio n s . 2 9 U .S .C . § 2 6 1 4 (a )( 1 ). A ddi t i onal l y , the FM L A pr ovi des pr ot ect i on agai ns tdi s cr i m i nat i on bas ed on the exer ci s e of thes e r i ght s , oft en r efe r r ed t o as the “di s cr i m i nat i on” or“r et al i at i on” p ro v is io n s . See 2 9 U .S .C .§ 2 6 1 5 (a )(1 ) a n d (2 ); 2 9 C .F .R . § 8 2 5 .2 2 0 (c ) (“ A n e m p lo y e r is5

p ro h ib ite d f

ro m d is c ri m in a tin g a g a in s t e m p lo y e e s . . . w h o h a v e u s e d F M L A le a v e .” ). E m pl oy er s m aynot“us e the t aki ng of FM L A l eave as a nega t i ve fa ct ori n empl oym ent act i ons , s uch as hi r i ng, pr om ot i ons ordi s ci pl i naryact i ons . ” 29 C . F. R . § 825. 220( c) T h is a p p e a l o n lyin v o lv e s th e in ter f e re n c e p ro v isio n o f

th e F M L A . In o rd e r to as s erta cl ai m of depr i vat i on of ent i t l ement s , the empl oy ee onl yneeds t o s how thathe w as en ti tl ed to b en ef

it s u n d er the F M L A an d that h e w as d en ied th em . 2 9 U . S . C . § § 2 6 1 2 (a), 2614( a) . T he A ctpr ovi des that“[i ] ts hal l be unl aw ful foranyempl oy ert o i nt er fer e w i th, re stra in , o r d e n yth e e x e rc ise o f o r th e a ttem p t to e x e rc ise , an yrig h t p ro v id e d u n d e r th is s ubchapt er . ” 29 U . S. C . § 2615( a) ( 1) . U nderthi s theory , the empl oy ee ne ed nots how t hat he w as tr eat ed di ffe r ent l ythan other s . Fur ther , the empl oy ercannotj us t i fyi t s act i ons by es t abl i s hi ng a l egi t i m at e bus i nes s purpos e fori t s deci s i on. A n i nt er fer ence act i on i s not a b o u t d isc rim in a tio n , itis o n lya b o u t w h e th e r th e e m p lo y e r p ro v id e d th e e m p lo y e e w ith th e e n tit lem e n ts g u a ra n tee d b yth e F M L A . It i s u n d isp u ted th a t C a lli so n w a s e n tit led to the bene fi t s of the FM L A . A ccor di ngl y , the onl yi s s ue w e mustdet erm i ne i s w hethert he C i tydeni ed C al l i s on of hi s ent i t l ement s underthe FM L A byenfor ci ng i t s ow n s i ck l eave p o lic ie s a g a in s t h im w h ile h e w a s o n le a v e . C a lli so n a rg u e s th a t th e F M L A a n ti-ab u se a n d e lig ib ili typ ro v isio n s c o n f lict w ith th e C ity ’s c a ll-in r e q u ire m e n t in its sic k lea v e p o licya n d th e re f o re th e re q u ire m e n t sh o u ld n o t h a v e a p p lie d to h im w h ile h e w a s o n le a v e . H e a ss e rts th a t “[ o ]n c e a n e m p lo y e e is p re-ap p rov ed fo r F M L A leav e, he /she sh o u ld b e lef t al o n e.” (A p p ell an t’ s B r. at 8.)W e w ill n o t co n sid e r w h e th e r th is a rg u m e n t w a s w a iv e d b e c a u se it w a s n o t ra ise d in 1 C al l i s on’ s r es pons e t o t he C i ty ’ s m ot i on fors um m aryj udgm ent . R ather , w e w i l l deny 6 R ecogni zi ng thathe w as perm i t t ed t o r eturn t o w or k aft erhi s l eave , C al l i s on ar gues t hat hi s r i ght s w er e i nt er fer ed w i th beca us e he w as i s s ued tw o s us pens i ons w hi l e on l eave for l eavi ng hi s hom e w i thoutnot i fy i ng the C i ty . H e r eas ons thathe w as notr es t or ed w i th t he sam e sal arybecau se these suspen si on s am ou nted t o fo ur day s of l ostw ages. I n gr ant i ng the C i ty ’ s m ot i on fors um m aryj udgm ent , the D i s tr i ctC our tfound that the C i ty ’ s s i ck l eave pol i cyr equi r i ng an empl oy ee on l eave t o “ca l l the Si ck Leave H ot l i ne w hen l eavi ng hom e dur i ng r egul arw or ki ng hour s does notconfl i ctw i th any s ubs t ant i ve pr ovi s i ons of the FM L A . ” ( A pp. at8. ) Fur ther , the C our tr eas oned thatt he p u rp o se o f

th e F M L A is n o t co m p ro m ise d b yth is p o licyb e c a u se it “n e ith e r p re v e n ts e m p lo y e e s f

ro m ta k in g F M L A le a v e n o r d is c o u ra g e s e m p lo y e e s f ro m ta k in g s u c h le a v e . I ts i m pl yens ur es thatempl oy ees do notabus e thei rFM L A l eave . ” W e agr ee. T he FM L A i s m eantt o pr ohi bi templ oy er s fr om r et al i at i ng agai ns templ oy ees w ho e x e rc ise th e ir rig h ts, re f u sin g to a u th o riz e lea v e , m a n ip u latin g p o sitio n s to a v o id appl i cat i on of the A ct , ordi s cr i m i nat or i l yappl y i ng pol i ci es t o di s cour age e m pl oy ees fr om t aki ng l eave . 29 C . F. R . § 825. 220. I n the i ns t antcas e, the C i tydi d notengage i n anyof thes e pr ohi bi t ed ac t s . T he C i typr ovi ded C al l i s on w i th the ent i t l ement s s etfor th i n the F M L A (e.g., a tw elve -w ee k leav e a n d reinstatem en t after takin g m ed ical l ea v e). C al l i s on’ s cont ent i on thatthe FM L A ’ s ant i - abus e pr ovi s i ons cont ai ned i n 29 U .S .C . § 2 6 1 3 p re e m p t th e C ity ’s p ro c e d u re s is m e ritles s. T h e a n ti-ab u se p ro v isio n s in 1th is c la im o n th e m e ri ts . 7

the FM L A perm i t t i ng empl oy er s t o r eques ts econd opi ni ons and ce r t i fi cat i ons does not confl i ctw i th the C i ty ’ s pr ovi s i on r equi r i ng empl oy ees on m edi cal l eave t o cal l - i n w hen l eavi ng thei rhom e dur i ng bus i nes s hour s . T hes e “c ert i fi cat i on” pr ovi s i ons m er el yout l i ne s om e of the empl oy er ’ s r i ght s and empl oy ee’ s corr es pondi ng obl i gat i ons . I tnei ther estab li sh es a n em p loy ee ’s en ti tl em en ts no r pro v ides an ex h au sti v e li st of an em p loy er’s ri gh t s. Si m i l ar l y , the el i gi bi l i tyr equi r ement s cont ai ned i n 29 U . S. C . § 2612( a) ( 1) do not co n fli ct w ith the c all -i n p roc ed u re. U n li k e the eli g ibil ityp rov isi o n , the c all -i n p roc ed u re d o es n o t serve as a p re-req u isi te t o en ti tl em en t of F M L A leav e. R athe r, the p roc ed u re m er el ys et s for th obl i gat i ons of empl oy ees w ho ar e on l eave , r egar dl es s of w hetherthe l eave i s pur s uantt o t he FM L A . T he purpos e of the pr ocedur e i s t o pr ovi de an a ddi t i onal safegu ard againstsi ck leave abu se byem ploy ees. Fi nal l y , contr aryt o C al l i s on’ s as s ert i on, ther e i s no r i ghti n the FM L A t o be “l eft al one. ” ( A ppel l ant ’ s B r . at8. ) N othi ng i n the FM L A pr event s empl oy er s fr om ens ur i ng that em ploy ees w ho are on l eave f rom w ork do no tabu se theirl eave, par t i cular l ytho se w h o e n te r l e a v e w h ile o n th e e m p lo y e r’ s S ic k A b u s e L is t. We r e c o g n i z e th a twh e r e a n e mp l o y e r ’ s i n t e rn a l p o l i c i e s c o n f l i c twi th th e F M L A, the FM L A contr ol s and the empl oy ee ne ed onl ycompl yw i th the r equi r ement s of the A ct t o i nvoke i t s pr ot ect i on. T he FM L A pr ovi des that“the r i ght s es t abl i s hed forempl oy ees8

underthi s A ct. . . s hal l notbe di m i ni s hed byanycol l ect i ve bar gai ni ng agr eement , orany e m p lo ym e n t b e n e f

it p ro g ra m o r p lan .” 2 9 U .S .C . § 2 6 5 2 (b ); s ee al s o V ander poolv. I NC O A l l oys I

nt ’ l , I nc. , 1999 U . S. D i s t . L E X I S 12363 ( S. D . W . V . J une 3, 1999) ( deny i ng s um m aryj udgm entbeca us e the empl oy er ’ s r equi r ementof adva nce not i ce a nd pr ohi bi t i on o f tele p h o n ic r e q u e sts d ire c tlyc o n f licte d w ith F M L A p ro v isio n s p e rm itt in g tele p h o n ic n o ti ce an d d ispe n sing w ith ad v an ce n o ti ce if th e n ee d fo r l ea v e w as u n fo rese ea b le); Marrero v. C am den C ou nty Bd . of Soc. Servs. , 164 F. Supp. 2d 455 ( D . N . J . 2001) ( fi ndi ng th a t th e e m p lo y e r’s p o licyre q u irin g c e rtific a tio n f o r f iv e c o n se c u tiv e a b se n c e s d ire c tly confl i ct s w i th the FM L A pr ovi s i on aff or di ng empl oy ees atl eas tfi ft een da y s t o pr ovi de a c e rt if ic a tio n ). In ter n a l sic k lea v e p o licie s o r a n yc o llec tiv e b a rg a in in g a g re e m e n ts a re o n ly i nval i dat ed t o t he ext enttheydi m i ni s h the r i ght s cr eat ed bythe FM L A . “Feder al l abor l aw r equi r es empl oy er s t o adher e t o col l ect i ve bar gai ni ng agr eement s ; nothi ng i n the FM L A ent i t l es empl oy ees t o var i ance fr om neutr al rul es . ” See D i azv. For tW ayne Foundr y C or p. , 1 3 1 F .3 d 7 1 1 , 7 1 4 (7 th C ir. 1 9 9 7 ) (“ W h a t m a tters f o r c u rre n t p u rp o se s is that the F M L A d o es n o t t ell em p loy ers h o w to se n d n o ti ce s [f o r sec o n d o p inion s]. A firm s afe l ym ayus e the met hod pr es cr i bed bycol l ect i ve bar gai ni ng agr eement s ors om e other s o u rc e o f ru le s .” ). B eca us e the C i ty ’ s i nt ernal cal l - i n pol i cynei therconfl i ct s w i th nordi m i ni s hes t he p r o t e c t i o n s g u a r a n t e e d b y t h e F M L A , i ti s n o ti n v a l i d a t e d b y th e A c t . A c c o r d i n g l y,9

Ca l l i s o n was r e q u i r e d t o c o mpl ywi th th e p o l i c ya n d th e Ci tyd i d n o ta b r o g a t e h i s FM LA ri gh t s byplaci ng him on suspensi on for the v i olat i on s. Forthe for egoi ng r eas ons , the j udgm entof the D i s tr i ctC our tent er ed on J une 17, 2004, w i l l be af

fi r m ed.