Avila v Continental Airlines (2008) is a disability discrimination case which illustrates a common mistake that employees makes when requesting medical leave or disability leave. In that case, the plaintiff was terminated for missing seven days of work, four of which were due to hospitalization for acute pancreatitis. The employee had provided two medical forms that only indicated that he was seen for illness or injury and that he was unable to work for a number of days. Avila also stated that he gave the two medical notes to this supervisor, but he could not recall if he gave them to the supervisor directly or left them on the supervisor’s desk. After the plaintiff was terminated, he informed his supervisors that he was absent due to pancreatitis, but the employer followed through with the termination anyway. The court found that Avila could not establish that the managers who terminated him knew about the disability because the notes provided lacked diagnostic information or other information indicating the nature of the plaintiff’s illness or injury and the plaintiff never told his supervisors about his pancreatitis. The fairness of the Avila court decision is somewhat debatable, but it does serve as an important reminder regarding two steps an employee should take in order to avoid being terminated under similar circumstances:
- Have solid proof of delivering your disability / medical leave paperwork to your manager and / or HR. Even if you deliver it in person, e-mail or fax some type of confirmation, so that it can never be disputed in the future that you put your employer on notice of your medical condition and need for medical leave.
- Don’t blindly rely on your doctor to include all the necessary information in your medical note. Your doctor is an expert in medicine; not in workplace compliance with disability laws. Read the note carefully before delivering it to the employer and ask yourself whether it is detailed and complete enough to make it crystal clear to your employer what your medical issue is, and the fact that you will need medical leave or disability accommodation. Ask your doctor to revise the medical note, if necessary.