Court Holds That Right to Reinstatement Following Leave is Not Absolute
In Washington v. Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42471 (Md. Tenn., 2010), the United States District Court in Tennessee held an employer need not reinstate an employee returning from disability leave who would have lost his job even if he had not taken leave. Moreover, the court held an employer is not required to reinstate an employee returning from disability leave if application of a uniformly-applied policy would have resulted in his discharge. The Court noted the company’s decisional process is not required to be optimal or that it leave no stone unturned.
This case continues in a line of cases reaffirming that while an employee on leave is entitled to certain protections under the applicable laws (e.g., the FMLA), those laws do not confer on the employee a greater entitlement to reinstatement as compared to other employees not on leave.
