Ross v. Gilhuly

Ross joined Continental, a South Carolina tire manufacturer in 2008 and, in 2011, became District Manager. He reported to Gilhuly and worked from his Philadelphia home, independently setting his travel schedule and work priorities. Ross was responsible for a major customer, Reliable Tire. Gilhuly began receiving negative comments from Reliable’s owner, Betz, regarding Ross. Betz asked that Ross be taken off of Reliable’s account. Gilhuly was also unhappy with Ross’s presentations at meetings. In 2011, Gilhuly reported Ross’s deficiencies to the Human Resources Department, and began developing a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). Ross prepared a six-month plan of action that acknowledged his deficiencies. Less than a month after the PIP was implemented, Ross forwarded a letter from his doctor, indicating that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Ross was granted Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), 29 U.S.C. 2601, leave, during which he received regular compensation and benefits. His PIP remained “pending.” A month after Ross returned from leave, Gilhuly sent him a memo, acknowledging that progress had been made and extending the PIP for 60 days. Ross filed suit against Gilhuly and Continental, alleging interference with his FMLA rights and retaliation. While the suit was pending, Gilhuly sent a memo, indicating that Ross was still not meeting expectations, with 12 pages of explanation. Continental terminated Ross’s employment. The district court rejected his suit on summary judgment. The Third Circuit affirmed, stating that Ross received all to which he was entitled under the FMLA, and suffered no adverse employment consequences for doing so.View "Ross v. Gilhuly" on Justia Law