In a case under the Family Medical Leave Act, the Eleventh Circuit recently held that while an employee cannot waive prospective FMLA rights, a severance agreement which released an employer from specific claims an employee might have had based on past interference or retaliation was valid. Paylor v. Hartford Fire Ins. Co., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 6402 (11^th Cir. 2014).

Blanche Paylor was employed by Hartford Fire.  She took multiple FMLA leaves and ultimately came under fire for alleged performance problems.  She was given the option of severance with a waiver of claims she might have had under the FMLA, or a performance-improvement plan with the possibility of termination if she did not improve.  She accepted the severance, and then sued for violations of the FMLA anyway.

The Eleventh Circuit held that her FMLA claims were barred by the severance agreement.  While the court acknowledged that 29 C.F.R. 825.220(d) provides that employees cannot waive or be compelled to waive their prospective rights under the FMLA, the court pointed out that it does not bar agreements to release FMLA claims based on past employer conduct.

The court held that the severance agreement covered employer conduct which occurred prior to the signing of the agreement and thus Paylor’s FMLA claims were barred.