Bachelder v. America West Airlines, Inc.

259 F.3d 1112 (2001)

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Bachelder v. America West Airlines, Inc.

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
259 F.3d 1112 (2001)

Facts

Penny Bachelder (plaintiff) was employed by America West Airlines, Inc. (the airline) (defendant). In 1994 and 1995, Bachelder took two leaves of absence covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). In January 1996, a manager had a corrective-action discussion with Bachelder concerning her attendance, including the two FMLA leaves. In February 1996, Bachelder missed work for three weeks. Bachelder provided two doctor’s notes explaining her absences, but the airline mistakenly failed to characterize the February 1996 absences as FMLA leave because it believed Bachelder had exhausted her allotment. In early April 1996, Bachelder missed one day of work to care for her sick daughter. On April 9, the airline fired Bachelder for three stated reasons, including the fact that Bachelder had missed work on 16 occasions since the January discussion. Bachelder sued under the FMLA, arguing that the airline impermissibly considered previous FMLA leave when it terminated her employment. After a bench trial, the district court found that the airline did not impermissibly consider Bachelder’s FMLA leave when it terminated her. Bachelder appealed. The airline argued that Bachelder’s claim should be treated as one for discrimination and that a McDonnell Douglas-style burden-shifting approach applied.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Berzon, J.)

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