Farrell v. Tri-County Metropolitan (TriMet) Transportation District of Oregon
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
No. 06-35484; D.C. No. CV-04-00296-OMP

Lost Wages Recoverable in Family Medical Leave Act violation

Farrell works as a bus driver for TriMet. During pre-employment examination, he learned that he had diabetes. After several years of working, Farrell also suffered from eczema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, emphysema, and/or chronic bronchitis.

Pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave Act, Farrell repeatedly requested permission to be absent from work because of his medical conditions. TriMet denied several of his requests. Thereafter, Farrell was diagnosed with an adjustment disorder, anxiety and depression.

Farrell sued TriMet. After trial, the jury found that:

1. TriMet wrongly denied one or more requests by Farrell for leave under the FMLA


2. that the wrongful denial resulted in emotional stress or other mental problems that caused Farrell to miss additional days of work


3. that Farrell was entitled to $1,110 in lost wages for days of work that he missed because of stress or other mental problems resulting from the wrongful denial of FMLA leave

The lone issue presented in appeal before the Court is whether the FMLA allows a plaintiff to recover damages for absences from work that were caused by an emotional condition that itself resulted from the employer’s wrongful denial of FMLA.

The Court of Appeals held that the recovery of emotional distress is not available under the FMLA because the same specifically lists the types of damages that an employer may be liable for. The law includes damages only insofar as they are actual monetary losses of the employee such as salary and benefits and certain liquidated damages.

In this case, however, the jury’s verdict did not award FMLA damages for emotional distress to Farrell. Rather, for days of work that he missed because of stress or other mental problems resulting from the wrongful denial of FMLA leave. The jury’s award was limited to wages actually lost because of TriMet’s FMLA violation, not for psychological damages.

The Court affirmed the jury’s verdict.