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Law360 (June 19, 2020, 6:20 PM EDT) -- Eastern Airlines urged a Pennsylvania federal judge Friday to dismiss a suit from a former director who claims she was wrongly fired for trying to take time off under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, saying she was fired before the act went into effect.
The airline said in a memorandum in support of its motion to dismiss that Stephanie Jones, the company's former director of revenue management, claims she was fired March 27 after requesting leave from work to care for her son, whose school had closed. But the FFCRA — which, among other things, gives workers time off to care for children whose schools have closed because of the virus — did not take effect until April 2, the company said.
"The presumption against retroactive application of statutes is so deeply rooted in our jurisprudence and so one-sided in favor of Eastern that dismissal of the complaint is unavoidable," the airline argued. "Pre-April 2, 2020 conduct is simply not actionable under the FFCRA."
The airline said a variety of court decisions have rejected retroactive application of other federal employment laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
Congress passed the FFCRA in March, requiring employers with 500 or fewer employees to provide workers up to two weeks off at full pay — subject to certain caps — if they're directly affected by the virus, and at partial pay to care for affected family members.
The statute also gives workers up to 10 weeks off at partial pay to care for children whose schools or child care centers have closed due to the virus, after two unpaid weeks. According to Jones' complaint, Eastern Airlines has less than 500 workers and is subject to the law.
Jones, a single mother, said in her April complaint that she raised concerns with several managers on March 20 about child care issues stemming from her 11-year-old son's inability to attend school because of coronavirus-related closures.
Jones had asked for two hours a day of flex time and later brought up her potential leave eligibility under the FFCRA in a telemeeting with the company's chief human resources official March 23, the complaint said. The next day, she formally requested to take leave under the law, according to the complaint.
But the official "responded in a fashion that showed open hostility" to her request for time off, Jones alleged. No one from the company reached out to her over the following days, and Jones was terminated via phone March 27, the complaint said.
According to Jones, "conflict" with others at the company was alluded to in her termination, and at no point did management address her leave request. Jones also contends that other employees reached out to ask her how to perform certain facets of her job between the time she asked for leave and her firing.
Edward C. Sweeney of Wusinich & Sweeney LLC, counsel for Jones, said Jones plans to file an amended complaint clarifying her retaliation claim. He said the FFCRA was enacted in March as an amendment to the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act.
"Jones was entitled under those laws to protection from retaliation when she requested leave under the [FMLA] and the FFCRA, even though the FFCRA had not yet taken effect," Sweeney said. "Defendants' nonretroactivity argument is unavailing because Ms. Jones was protected by the FMLA and the FLSA at the time of her request and termination."
Sweeney said the FMLA and FFCRA both require employees like Jones to give as much advance notice as is practical of their need for future leave, saying that is exactly what Jones did.
Counsel for Eastern Airlines declined to comment Friday.
Jones is represented by Edward C. Sweeney of Wusinich & Sweeney LLC.
Eastern Airlines is represented by Mark A. Saloman of FordHarrison LLP.
The case is Jones v. Eastern Airlines LLC et al., case number 2:20-cv-01927, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
--Additional reporting by Danielle Nichole Smith. Editing by Daniel King.
Update: This story has been updated to include a comment from Jones' attorney.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
