College shoots ‘airball’ in basketball coach’s FMLA lawsuit

An “airball,” or a basketball shot that misses the backboard, rim, and net entirely, sums up our appeals court’s recent opinion about the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) retaliation and interference claims filed by a college coach. The ruling contains multiple lessons for all Texas employers covered by the Act.

Tip-off

Akia Stanton was the head women’s basketball coach at Jarvis Christian College in Hawkins, Texas, until the institution fired her in June 2018. Her FMLA claims derive from two events spanning a few weeks during the beginning of that summer.

First, the college’s student recruitment efforts were lagging. A frustrated college president called an all-hands-on-deck meeting in which he allegedly threatened to terminate employees for absenteeism.

At the same time, Stanton’s anxiety and depression were worsening. She was suffering from panic attacks, experiencing chest and stomach pains, and engaging in uncontrollable bouts of crying while at work.

Game on

Stanton sought medical help. A nurse practitioner evaluated and diagnosed her as suffering from anxiety and depression and stated (in an FMLA form) the conditions would cause “episodic flare-ups periodically preventing [her] from performing her job functions.”

The FLMA form also noted Stanton was referred to “psych” and should be excused from work from June 8 to June 25. Certain sections of the form, however, were filled in with answers such as “unknown” or “TBD” (to be determined) by the physician.