Opinion ID: 67136
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Gray’s FMLA Claim

Text: “The FMLA entitles an eligible employee to take up to 12 weeks of leave in a 12-month period for the birth or adoption of a child, or the serious health condition of the employee or the employee’s child, spouse, or parent.” Morrison v. Amway Corp., 323 F.3d 920, 922-23 (11th Cir. 2003) (citing 29 U.S.C. § 2612(a)(1)) (emphasis added). An “eligible employee” is one who has been employed for at least 12 months by the employer and for at least 1,250 hours of service with the employer during the previous 12-month period. 29 U.S.C. § 2611(2)(A)(i)-(ii). The district court did not err in granting summary judgment on Gray’s FMLA claim. The court adopted the magistrate’s finding that Gray was not eligible for leave under the FMLA because she had not worked 1,250 hours in the preceding 12-month period. The magistrate did not specify upon which date he based his conclusion. However, in Dr. DeLano’s affidavit, she indicated that Gray worked 1,235 hours from April 7, 2004, to April 7, 2005. In her response to the Board’s motion for summary judgment, Gray did not dispute that fact, nor does she dispute it on appeal. Thus, contrary to Gray’s assertions otherwise, Gray was not eligible for leave under the FMLA because she had worked fewer than 1,250 hours 17 in the 12-month period preceding April 8, 2005.7 See 29 U.S.C. § 2611(2)(A)(i)- (ii); Morrison, 323 F.3d at 922-23. AFFIRMED. 7 Further, by failing to raise them on appeal, Gray has abandoned her arguments with respect to (1) the denial of her September 2005 request for leave, and (2) her claim that the Board erroneously denied her May 2005 leave request because it believed that the FMLA could not be granted retroactively. See Access Now, Inc. v. Southwest Airlines, Co., 385 F.3d 1324, 1330 (11th Cir. 2004) (noting that a legal claim or argument that has not been briefed will be deemed abandoned). 18