Opinion ID: 67090
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Use of FMLA Leave

Text: Lee next contends that his frequent taking of leave under the FMLA landed him on a so-called last supper list of employees whose frequent absences flagged them as candidates for firing or at least for reprimand. The FMLA not only requires employers to permit employees to take leave under the statutory framework, it prohibits employers from retaliating against employees for doing so. [9] Although there is evidence in the record of the existence of such a last supper list, there is no evidence that Lee's name was on it. KCS did track employee leaveof all typesfor payroll and employee record purposes, including to monitor its rule that employees use their vacation and sick time entirely prior to taking FMLA leave. Alexander stated that, in her capacity as KCS's liaison with the union, she recorded employee FMLA leave for those reasons, but that she gave no consideration to Lee's use of the FMLA when deciding whether to grant him leniency. She conceded that she had been suspicious of Lee's use of FMLA because it often coincided with holidays and weekends, but stated that she never pursued those suspicions and that, in any case, Lee had ceased taking FMLA leave nearly a year before the Shreveport violations. Lee offered no additional evidence that would create a genuine issue of material fact of a nexus between his use of FMLA leave and his firing. We affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment for KCS on this claim.