FMLA: Getting Fired for Not Calling In

At this time, I am not taking on contingency fee case and that includes emolyment law cases. Still, trying to keep an eye on developments. So Dismissal for Not Calling In Doesn't Violate FMLA from workforce.com caught my eye:

In June 2006, Bacon sued the hospital in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, claiming she had been fired in violation of the FMLA. The court found in favor of the hospital, finding that it was entitled to fire her for violating its call-in policy. Bacon appealed.

Affirming the court’s decision, the Minneapolis-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit agreed that the hospital’s call-in policy was permissible under applicable regulations; that Bacon signed an acknowledgment that the hospital’s policies apply to employees absences; and that although Bacon’s discharge interfered with her FMLA rights, Bacon was terminated to for failing to comply with the call-in policy, and that she would have been terminated for doing so irrespective of whether these absences were related to FMLA leave. Bacon v. Hennepin County Medical Center, 8th Cir., No. 08-1168, (12/22/08).