Opinion ID: 1850681
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Equivalent Employment Position

Text: The primary issue before this court is whether Kelley Company violated the FMLA, sec. 103.10(8)(a)2, Stats., by failing to place Marquardt in an equivalent employment position when she returned from family leave. This issue requires us to determine the meaning of equivalent employment position and apply that meaning to the facts in this case. The FMLA, sec. 103.10(8)(a), Stats., requires that when an employee returns from family or medical leave, the employer must immediately place the employee in his or her former employment position or an equivalent employment position if the employee's former position is not vacant. If the employee is not placed in his or her former position because it is not vacant, the equivalent employment position must have equivalent compensation, benefits, working shift, hours of employment and other terms and conditions of employment. Section 103.10(8) (a)2, Stats. (emphasis added). The issue in this case centers on the meaning of the statutory language other terms and conditions of employment. The argument canters on whether Marquardt's new position contained terms and conditions of employment equivalent to the position she occupied prior to taking family leave. There is no dispute that Marquardt's new position upon return from leave was equivalent in terms of compensation, benefits, working shift, and hours of employment. Marquardt argues, however, that the other terms and conditions of her new position were not equivalent to her position as Credit Manager prior to taking family leave. Marquardt argues that the phrase other terms and conditions of employment was intended to include authority and responsibility. Marquardt asserts that her new position was not an equivalent employment position because her authority and responsibility were greatly reduced in the new position. We agree. [8-12] The aim of all statutory construction is to discern the intent of the legislature. Terry v. Mongin Ins. Agency, 105 Wis. 2d 575, 583, 314 N.W.2d 349 (1982). In ascertaining that intent, the first resort is to the language of the statute itself. Voss v. City of Middleton, 162 Wis. 2d 737, 748, 470 N.W.2d 625 (1991). If the language of the statute clearly and unambiguously sets forth the legislative intent, it is the duty of the court to apply that intent to the case at hand and not look beyond the statutory language to ascertain its meaning. Id. However, if the language of the statute does not clearly and unambiguously set forth the legislative intent, the court will resort to judicial construction of the statute to ascertain and carry out the legislative intent. Id. Where one of several interpretations of a statute is possible, the court must ascertain the legislative intent from the language of the statute in relation to its context, subject matter, scope, history, and object intended to be accomplished. Terry, 105 Wis. 2d at 584. [13] The language of sec. 103.10(8)(a)2, Stats., is ambiguous. It is not clear from the language what an equivalent employment position is because the term other terms and conditions of employment is ambiguous. On its face the statute gives no indication what the legislature intended to include as other terms and conditions of employment. The FMLA requires most employers in this state who employ at least fifty individuals to permit employees to take family and medical leave. The FMLA sets forth minimum rights for family and medical leave, but permits an employer to provide rights which are more generous to the employee. [6] An employee may take family leave for any of the following reasons: (1) the birth of the employee's natural child; (2) the placement of a child with the employee for adoption; and (3) to care for the employee's child, spouse or parent who has a serious health condition. [7] An employee may take medical leave if the employee has a serious health condition which makes the employee unable to perform his or her employment duties. [8] The legislative history of the FMLA reveals that the Act was intended to assist workers in handling conflicts between the demands of their work and the needs of their families. [9] The FMLA was a response to the increased entry of women, the persons traditionally responsible for family care giving, into the work force. [10] The FMLA was designed to accomplish the following: make employees more productive on the job because they will have dealt with family crises while on leave; help ease the day care shortage; save health care costs by allowing children to care for seriously ill parents at home; and make bonding for new infants and adjustment periods for adopted children go easier which will have long term psychological benefits for children. [11] The FMLA is designed to protect employees' jobs and benefits while on leave to care for their families or their own medical needs. The FMLA accomplishes this by ensuring that an employee who takes a family or medical leave must be returned to the same position he or she held before taking leave or if that position is not vacant, an equivalent employment position. An equivalent employment position must have equivalent compensation, benefits, working shift, hours of employment and other terms and conditions of employment. We conclude that the legislature included the language other terms and conditions of employment to protect the employee's status, responsibility and authority while on leave. There is a deterrent factor in taking leave if all that is protected is an employee's salary, hours, and benefits. It is punitive in nature for an employee to have job responsibility and authority stripped while on leave. This forces an employee to choose between their family or health and job which is exactly what the legislature intended to prevent by adopting the FMLA. In defining what a substantially equivalent position was for reinstatement under the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act, this court stated that comparability in salary was only one factor to be considered in determining whether a new position was substantially equivalent to the employee's previous position. Anderson v. LIRC, 111 Wis. 2d 245, 256, 330 N.W.2d 594 (1983). This court stated that [c]omparability in status is often more important, especially as it relates to opportunities for advancement or for other employment. Id. [14] The phrase other terms and conditions of employment is merely surplus if it is not interpreted to mean an employee's status, responsibility, and authority. A court should avoid interpreting a statute in such a way as to render any portion surplus language. Voss, 162 Wis. 2d at 751. Kelley Company argues that the legislature intended to keep the definition of other terms and conditions of employment broad enough to meet the myriad of employment situations that could occur in the work forces of diverse employers, giving employers flexibility to make reasonable job assignments when an employee's position is no longer vacant upon return from family or medical leave. However, the phrase is not necessary to accomplish that purpose. The legislature specifically stated that an employee's compensation, benefits, working shift, and hours of employment are protected. The only reasonable interpretation is that the phrase other terms and conditions of employment was meant to include job status, responsibility, and authority. Kelley Company asserts that it would be poor public policy to require employers to hold jobs open while employees are on family or medical leave. We agree. An employer is not stopped from reorganizing departments or making changes in job positions for legitimate business reasons during the time an employee is away on family or medical leave as long as the same position or an equivalent employment position is available for the employee upon return from leave. This makes sense from a public policy perspective. On one hand, businesses are not curtailed from making legitimate business decisions and changes, and on the other hand, an employee may take family or medical leave without the fear of losing his or her position in the work place which includes status, authority, and responsibility. The legislature determined that it is important to protect employee's jobs while they are on family or medical leave. An employer can make changes in job positions while an employee is on leave as long as the employee is placed in an equivalent employment position upon return from leave. Marquardt was not returned to an equivalent employment position when she returned from family leave. Marquardt's supervisory duties were reduced from supervising four employees to just one employee. Marquardt's new position entailed performing 25 percent clerical work. Her prior position entailed no clerical work. Marquardt's job status, authority, and responsibility were greatly reduced in her new position. Although Marquardt was still designated a manager, her new job duties were far less significant than those she performed prior to leave. Kelley Company essentially demoted Marquardt during the time she was on family leave which is the type of activity the FMLA was designed to prevent. Kelley Company argues that before she took leave, Marquardt had no right to prevent Kelley Company from reorganizing the Finance Division and she had no guarantee that she would remain in the same job with similar duties. This is true and the fact that Kelley Company reorganized Marquardt's department and gave her new job duties is not a violation of the FMLA. Kelley Company violated the FMLA by giving Marquardt job duties that were not equivalent in significance to those she performed before taking leave. The fact that Marquardt's new job involved 25 percent clerical work and less supervisory duties indicates that her status, responsibility and authority were greatly reduced in violation of the FMLA. Kelley Company correctly argues that the FMLA was not intended to protect employees from problems they were experiencing on the job. Kelley Company points out that Marquardt had communication problems with customers long before she took family leave. Kelley Company maintains that Marquardt's reassignment to a position that eliminated customer contact was inevitable whether she took family leave or not. While this may be true, the FMLA required Kelley Company to place Marquardt in an equivalent employment position upon her return from family leave. The equivalent position upon return from leave need not include the same job duties, but it must be equivalent in status, responsibility and authority. Kelley Company claims that performing clerical work at the company was a normal part of some managers' duties. Kelley Company further asserts that performing clerical work was no indication that a manager was of a lesser status than other managers. However, there is no indication in the record of how much clerical work other managers were required to perform as part of their everyday duties. Marquardt's status and responsibility were reduced from performing no clerical work to performing 25 percent clerical work. [15-17] We hold that an equivalent employment position means a position with equivalent compensation, benefits, working shift, hours of employment, job status, responsibility and authority. The equivalent position need not include the same job duties, but the new duties must be equivalent in terms of significance to those performed prior to the leave. The only reasonable meaning that can be given to the phrase other terms and conditions of employment is that the legislature intended to protect an employee's job status, responsibility and authority. Since we conclude that Marquardt was not given an equivalent employment position upon return from leave, we reverse the court of appeals.