Question:
While on vacation in Honduras, an employee’s daughter fell and suffered a serious head injury. The daughter was airlifted to Miami for emergency surgery. The employee contacted his employer and was told to take all of the time he needed. He was forwarded and completed an FMLA leave request form. About three weeks later, while the daughter was still recovering, the employee’s wife stayed in Miami with the daughter while the employee returned to the family home in Texas. The return was prompted, in part, by complaints to the neighborhood association about the untended yard. However, the employee also made modifications to the house, including adding padding to sharp edges, to make the house safer for his daughter’s return. The employee remained in daily phone contact with his wife and daughter until they arrived home about two weeks later. The employee returned to work about a week later, which was also the return date indicated on his FMLA leave request. Two days after his return to work, the employee was terminated. Did this employer violate the FMLA? Why or why not?