The Essential Guide to Family & Medical Leave

chapter 11 | how other laws affect FMLA leave | 257
Lessons from the
Real World
When an employee’s depression causes poor
attendance, she isn’t protected by the ADA
but might be entitled to FMLA leave.
Theresa Spangler worked in the Demand Services Department of the Federal
Home Loan Bank of Des Moines. After she was diagnosed with dysthemia (a
form of depression), she began having attendance problems. Over the years,
she took two leaves of absence for treatment and missed days of work due to
her depression.
After being warned, being put on probation, and facing customer
complaints about her absences, Spangler was eventually fired for excessive
absenteeism when she called in and saying she would be out for “depression,
again.” She sued the bank for violating the ADA and the FMLA.
The court found that Spangler had no claim under the ADA, because she
could not prove that she could perform the job’s essential functions with
or without accommodation. One of Spangler’s job duties was to make sure
member banks had adequate daily cash, and the court found that regular
attendance was therefore an essential function of her job.
The court also found, however, that Spangler might have a valid FMLA
claim. Unlike the ADA, which protects employees who can do the job but
might need an accommodation, the FMLA protects employees who cannot
perform the job’s essential functions, at least for a limited time. When
Spangler called in and said she would miss work for depression, the company
should have treated it as a request for FMLA leave.
Spangler v. Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, 278 F.3d 847 (8 th Cir. 2002).