In Reed v. Southwestern Bell, No. 4:07CV00525 RWS, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33429 (E.D.Mo. May 7, 2007), the court dismissed the pro se plaintiff's Title VII, ADEA, and ADA retaliation claims because the were based on violation of the FMLA. The employee did not assert violation of the FMLA as a cause of action. The Court opined:
There is not right to recover under Title VII, the ADEA, or the ADA for adverse actions taken against an employee for exercising rights under the FMLA. Title VII only protects claimants who have suffered adverse employment action as a result of exercising their rights under Title VII, not the FMLA. ... The ADA similarly only protects claimants who have suffered adverse employment action as a result of exercising rights under the ADEA, not the FMLA.
Comment: Violation of the FMLA will not always support a claim under another federal anti-discrimination statute. Of course, if an employer denies FMLA leave based on sex, age, race, national origin, or disability, the employee may be faced with a Title VII, ADEA, and/or ADA claim based on violation of the FMLA. Retaliation claims are a bit different. Generally, as suggested by the Court in Reed, retaliation claims are based on the exercise of rights guaranteed only by the particular statute being asserted, and not violations of some other statute. The lesson is: plead your cases well.
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