Family Medical Leave Act and the Doctrine of Eleventh Amendment Immunity

Family Medical Leave Act and the Doctrine of Eleventh Amendment Immunity
Lambert v NYS Office of Mental Health, USDC, EDNY, Judge Gleeson, 97-CV-1347

Efforts by state employees to challenge alleged violations of federal civil rights and other laws have be rejected by federal courts under the doctrine of Eleventh Amendment Immunity. In the Lambert case, a federal district court dismissed claims alleging that the State’s Office of Mental Health [OMH] violated the Family Medical Leave Act on the basis of Eleventh Amendment Immunity.

Patricia Lambert had requested leave pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 [FMLA], 29 USC Section 2601 on December 16, 1994. She provided medical documentation in support of her request.

While her FMLA request was pending, she used sick leave, personal time, and vacation time to cover her absences from work. OMH, Lambert claimed, (1) found her to be her eligible for FMLA benefits on February 1995 but (2) terminated her in March 1995.

The court never reached the merits of Lambert’s allegations, holding that [s]ince Lambert’s FMLA claim against the Office of Mental Health is predicated on a request for leave involving her own health condition (in contrast, for example, to a request for leave for the birth of a child), it is barred by the Eleventh Amendment.

The court cited Hale v Mann, 219 F.3d 61, 67, decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, as authority for its determination.

In Hale the Circuit Court said that FMLA’s abrogation of states’ sovereign immunity to suits regarding employees’ own health conditions exceeded Congress’s power under the Fourteenth Amendment.

Judge Gleeson also commented that Lambert’s FMLA claim against the individual defendants was inappropriate, noting a decision by the Eleventh Circuit holding that individual state officers are not employers within the meaning of the FMLA [Wascura v Carver, 169 F.3d 683].