Attorneys Daniel Harrell and Jeremy Branning have earned a big win for a Clark Partington client. These attorneys represented Gulf Coast Health Care of Delaware, LLC in a federal lawsuit pending in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The case centered on an employee’s disruptive social media posting while on medical leave. The Plaintiff, Rodney Jones, took 12 weeks of medical leave under the FMLA, followed by one month of non-FMLA discretionary medical leave. While on the non-FMLA leave, Jones posted pictures of himself on vacation in the Caribbean and, upon returning to work, his employment was terminated because of the negative impact his social media posts had on his co-workers. Jones sued Gulf Coast Health Care for FMLA interference and retaliation. The Court granted summary judgment in favor of Gulf Coast Health Care, holding that (1) Jones failed to prove interference because he failed to return to work at the end of his allotted FMLA leave, and (2) Jones failed to prove the causation element necessary to establish a claim for FMLA retaliation.
