Eliminating Travel Did Not Violate FMLA

Smith v. East Baton Rouge Parish Sch. Bd., 5th Cir., No. 04-31199 (June 22, 2006).

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) permits the elimination of work travel from an employee's job if the job description is rewritten during the employee's leave, provided the employee's duties after the leave are virtually identical to the ones performed before the time off, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held.

The East Baton Rouge, La., Parish School Board employed Phyllis Smith as its assistant supervisor of school accounts. Prior to her leave, this position required her to travel to various schools and directly assist school principals and staff members in keeping accurate accounting records. During Smith's maternity leave, the board restructured the school accounts department and revised her job description so that she would audit the schools' books from a central office rather than by traveling to schools.

Smith sued under the FMLA after she returned, but the district court granted summary judgment to the board, holding that Smith's position after her FMLA leave was equivalent to her former position. In discussing "equivalent," the court cited the FMLA and stated that the position must be virtually identical to the former position in pay, benefits and working conditions; must involve substantially similar duties, skills and authority; must have similar opportunities for promotion and pay increases; and must be viewed as equally desirable to employees.

The court concluded that "de minimis, intangible changes" to an employee's position do not violate the FMLA. The elimination of travel responsibilities when the position no longer required travel to audit the schools' accounts, combined with providing the same salary and similar job description and title, amounted to only an intangible difference in employment position that did not violate the law.