Employment Law Report
Sixth Circuit Expands Family Relationships Covered Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
By: Brandon Girdley
On December 13, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a decision, Chapman v. Brentlinger Enterprises,[1] which expanded the scope of family relationships covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The case involved a woman, Celestia Chapman, who worked at a luxury car dealership in Ohio, and whose sister suffered from non-Hodgkin lymphoma and was unable to care for herself.
During the sister’s final days, Chapman was her primary caregiver, offering financial support, buying groceries, cooking and feeding her, helping her use the bathroom, cleaning and maintaining her apartment, and taking care of her medical needs. Chapman’s caregiving duties took a toll on her ability to work, and she exhausted her paid leave.[2] Chapman then requested further leave under the FMLA.[3] Chapman’s employer rejected the request on the grounds that the FMLA does not cover leave to take care of siblings.[4] After Chapman was late to work one day, she was fired.[5]
Chapman sued her employer, alleging, among other things, interference with her FMLA rights and retaliation.[6] The FMLA covers leave for an employee to care for a “son, daughter, or parent,”[7] or for an in loco parentis parent or child.[8] Chapman argued that when she requested FMLA leave, she was caring for her sister in the same way that a parent would care for a child, so she was in loco parentis to her sister and therefore her leave should be covered by the FMLA.[9] The trial court disagreed, concluding that Chapman could not be acting as a parent toward her sister because neither the parent-child relationship nor the sister’s medical condition began before the sister turned 18.[10]
The Sixth Circuit rejected the trial court’s literal reading of the FMLA’s family relationship categories. It noted that the FMLA itself does not address when an in loco parentis relationship begins, and that the common law definition of in loco parentis allows such relationships to form after the dependent is 18 and after the medical condition develops.[11] The Sixth Circuit then remanded the case to the trial court to determine whether Chapman was acting in loco parentis to her sister. The Sixth Circuit identified several factors to consider when making that decision, including close physical proximity, assumption of responsibility for support, control and legal rights, and whether there is a close emotional or familial bond.[12] In the wake of the Sixth Circuit’s decision, employers should pay close attention to the nature of the relationship between an employee seeking FMLA leave to care for a dependent, and the dependent being cared for. Employers may want to consider expanding their leave policies to encompass a broader range of family relationships for which FMLA leave may be granted.
[1] — F.4th —, 2024 WL 5103053 (6th Cir. 2024).
[2] Id. at *1.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id. at *2.
[6] Id.
[7] 29 U.S.C. § 2612(a)(1)(C).
[8] Id. §§ 2611(7), (12).
[9] 2024 WL 5103053, at *3.
[10] Id.
[11] Id.
[12] Id. at *11.
