An employee worked as a drill and machine operator at a furniture manufacturer. Employees were subject to dismissal when they accumulated seven points against them for violations based on conduct. For example, an excused absence was one point, while an unexcused absence was two points. The drill operator had five points; so, when she developed a urinary tract infection, she felt forced to work through the pain. Her doctor ultimately determined that she needed surgery to repair the urinary tract infection, so she asked for leave under the FMLA, for which the employer confirmed she was eligible.

Meanwhile, two other relevant events occurred. First, she was arrested and spent two days in jail for writing bad checks, both days of which constituted unexcused absences. Second, she left work early one day, believing that she had been terminated, to see her union rep and was dismissed, not for accumulating too many points but for walking off the job. She was also denied her right to FMLA because she was five days short of working for the employer for one year, as the FMLA requires. Is the employee entitled to FMLA leave? Has the employer fired her for absences attributable to a serious health condition, which is prohibited under the FMLA? Do the two days spent in jail constitute an unexcused absence, thus allowing the employer to fire her? Was she retaliated against for going to see her union rep, in violation of the FMLA?