Analysis of Wrongful Termination and Employment Law

This essay examines a case of wrongful termination in the context of US employment law. It begins with an introduction to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and its amendments, highlighting the legal implications of wrongful termination. The discussion centers on a scenario where an employee, Regina Squire, is terminated after taking medical leave for narcolepsy. The essay analyzes the application of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, arguing that the school's actions constitute illegal discrimination. It references relevant case laws, including Moore v. Payless Shoe Source Inc. and Frizzell v. Southwest Motor Freight Inc., to support its arguments. The conclusion reiterates that the school's termination of Squire's employment was illegal, violating various anti-discrimination laws and the employee's right to return to her job after medical leave. The essay emphasizes the employee's right to file a suit against the school for wrongful termination.

Running head: EMPLOYMENT LAW
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EMPLOYMENT LAW
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author’s note:

1EMPLOYMENT LAW
Introduction
The United States Department of Labor has administered and enforced many federal laws
regarding any employment in the United States. The Fair Labor Standards Act 1938 is one of
the labor laws in the United States, which has created several rights for the employees in an
organization. This Act has been amended in the year 1961 by the legislation of the U.S
government and included the matters of school in the territory of the US. The wrongful
termination form employment will come under this Act. A wrongful termination has required
that the person has been fired for a reason, which is illegal following the existing laws of the
land. These illegal reasons can include the infringement of the anti-discrimination laws, or
whistleblower laws, or any violation of any contract, that is, breach of the contract and many
others (Arnow-Richman 2017). This paper aims to discuss the wrongful termination of an
employee and the application of any discrimination law.
Discussion
In the given scenario, Regina Squire has been hired as a teacher for teaching the religion
classes on several days in a week and doing other duties in her workplace. After completing
almost five years, she has left the job on disability and has been diagnosed with the disease
narcolepsy. Nearly one year later, she has got a fit certificate from the doctor, and she has
decided to resume her work. The school has informed her that they have already employed
another teacher. Then Squire has become very upset and threatened them to file a suit. The
school committee has fired her promptly for disruptive and insubordination behavior.

2EMPLOYMENT LAW
In this scenario, the termination of the employment of Squire is an illegal act on the part
of the school. She has suffered from narcolepsy, for which she has taken leave from the school
authority as sick leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act 1993 will apply here for granting the
medical leave, which has enclosed the employers for providing unpaid leave with job protection
to the employees for any qualified medical reason. In this scenario, she has taken unpaid leave
due to her health condition. According to this Act, she has possessed a right to return in her Job
after the unpaid leave. However, the school authority has fired her, and this activity has been
violating the Family and Medical Leave Act. Squire has a right to take leave form the school for
any medical emergency. It is also a duty to the authority to grant a medical emergency leave for
its employees. Sections 12111 (4) and (5) of the American With Disability Act 1990 have
defined the terms ‘employee’ and ‘employer’ respectively. Employee means a person who is
employed or hired by an employer and employer means a person who is engaged in an
organization and employing the employees for bona fide activities. In this given scenario, the
school authority has employed Squire in that school as a teacher; therefore, there is an employer-
employee relationship between the school authority and Squire.
In this scenario, the school authority has discriminated against the employment of Squire
about the rejoining in the school. Suffering from a disease like a narcolepsy is one kind of
disability and severe problem of a person. There is a landmark case study regarding this
discrimination against any employee. In the case law, Moore vs. Payless Shoe Source Inc 1999,
the employee has to demonstrate that at the time of the leave, she is disabled but has been
qualified to accomplish the vital functions of his job with as well as without accommodation. In
this case, it has firmly decided that the Americans with Disability Act has prohibited the
employer from discriminating against any qualified person with the disability for the reason of

3EMPLOYMENT LAW
such disability. In the given scenario, Squire, the employee should not be discriminated by the
employer regarding any of her disability. However, the employee should have shown the
sufficient cause and effect of the disease or disability.
In the case law, Frizzell vs. Southwest Motor Freight Inc. 1995, the complainant has
filed a complaint before the Chancery Court regarding the violation of the Family and Medical
Leave Act. The case has been related to the unlawful employment practice, which means any
discrimination against any employee or an individual regarding any privileges of employment on
the basis of an individual’s color, race, sex, or national origin. In the given scenario, the school
authority has discriminated against its employee for her disability. It is one of the unfair
employment practices of the school authority and liable under the provision of the United States
law, such as Americans with Disabilities Act.
In the territory of the United States, the termination of any employee should not be legal
if the employment is on the basis of the membership in the group which is being protected from
discrimination by the law of the United States. It is unlawful on the purview of an employer to
terminate an employee form the employment established upon the factors, which have been
included employee’s disability, medical condition, religion, race, gender, national origin, sexual
orientation, pregnancy or the age over 40 years. These factors are according to the federal laws
of the United States such as the American Disabilities Act 1990, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act 1967. Most of the states in the US have
forbidden employers from dismissal their workers in the infringement of public policy, which
most citizens have found morally and ethically wrong.

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Conclusion
Therefore, from this scenario, it may be concluded that the school authority has illegally
terminated the employment of Squire. In other words, employment has been wrongfully
terminated by the school because it has violated the rules of the Fair Labour Standards Act of
the US. The school authority has violated various anti-discrimination Acts, which have been
enacted by the legislation of the Government of the United States. It has violated the rights of an
employee to return to her job. She can file a suit against the school authority for wrongful
termination from her employment.

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References
Arnow-Richman, R. S. (2017). Toward an American Law of Redundancy. Comparative Labour
and Social Security Law Review, 2, 16.
Frizzell v. Southwest Motor Freight, Inc., 906 F. Supp. 441 (E.D. Tenn. 1995)
Moore v. Payless Shoe Source, Inc., 526 U.S. 1142 (1999)
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA (42 U.S.C. § 12101)
The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 29 U.S. Code
The Civil Rights Act of 1991 (Pub. L. 102-166) (CRA)
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 29 U.S.C. § 203 (FLSA)