Judge Reverses Jury, Finds Company Didn’t Retaliate

A jury verdict that Rand Construction had retaliated against the CEO’s former executive assistant for taking medical leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, has been reversed by a federal trial judge in Virginia. Arlene Fry said that the company retaliated after she disclosed she had multiple sclerosis, and took a two-week FMLA leave to treat her symptoms. Rand argued that CEO Linda Rabbitt fired Fry over performance issues. A jury ruled in Rand’s favor on two Americans with Disabilities Act counts, but found for the plaintiff on a third count related to the FMLA. On Aug. 22 the district judge vacated that verdict. He wrote that there was insufficient evidence to find that Rabbit treated Fry any differently after her FMLA leave than she did before. The two had been at odds for a while. Documents describe incidents after Fry returned from leave in which Rabbitt threw papers at her, and called her “absolutely useless” and a “waste of oxygen.” In an email, Rabbit told colleagues: “I think when she takes her medication for bipolar or whatever she has she becomes a snail.”