Carol Kliskey was a Program Assistant at a nonprofit corporation called Making Opportunity County (MOC) in Massachusetts. On March 15, 2022, Kliskey flew to Oklahoma to care for her daughter who had attempted suicide. A few weeks later, Kliskey requested Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). MOC approved her request to take 12 weeks of FMLA leave effective April 2, 2022.
Kliskey initially elected to use accrued sick leave to cover her FMLA leave. Kliskey also communicated that she was interested in requesting benefits under Massachusetts Paid Family Leave program (Massachusetts PFL). Kliskey never ultimately completed her application for Massachusetts PFL.
On June 17, 2022, Kliskey informed MOC that she would be unable to return to work at the conclusion of her FMLA leave. According to Kliskey, her supervisor told her that she would not be allowed to take any more time off and denied her request to use sick leave to extend her leave after she exhausted FMLA leave. Kliskey alleges her supervisor gave her an ultimatum to either return to work on July 1, 2022, or be terminated without the opportunity for rehire.
A few days later, Kliskey checked her bank account and realized she had not been paid during all of her FMLA leave. MOC had provided her with paid sick leave for some, but not all of her FMLA leave. Kliskey also claimed MOC terminated her health benefits June 27, 2022, during her FMLA leave. While it was undisputed that Kliskey failed to pay any health insurance premiums during her FMLA leave, MOC contended it did not cancel her health insurance during her FMLA leave.
On June 30, 2022, Kliskey submitted a resignation letter. Thereafter, Kliskey filed a lawsuit alleging MOC had retaliated against her for exercising her FMLA rights. Among her many claims, she alleged that MOC terminated her health benefits during her FMLA leave. MOC denied cancelling her health benefits during her leave.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts determined Kliskey’s claim failed as a matter of law because Kliskey failed to pay her health plan premiums, which was an obligation she bore during her FMLA leave. Under the FMLA, employees are required to continue paying for their share of health insurance premiums while on leave. Kliskey did not dispute that she did not pay her share of her health insurance premiums. The Court found that even if Kliskey’s health benefits were terminated during leave, it would not rise to the level of an adverse employment action for a retaliation claim if she failed to make the required premium payments.
Kliskey also contended that she was denied paid sick leave during her FMLA leave because MOC did not apply her sick leave. The Court found that MOC had provided Kliskey with at least 40 hours of paid sick leave during her FMLA leave, which met the requirements of Massachusetts paid sick leave law. Even though MOC did not provide Kliskey with more paid sick leave to cover the rest of her FMLA leave, the Court found that since Kliskey had indicated she wanted to apply for the Massachusetts PFL benefit on April 29, 2022, MOC was prohibited from compelling Kliskey to use more sick leave under Massachusetts state law. Although Kliskey did not ultimately complete her Massachusetts PFL application, the state law’s prohibition on requiring her to use sick leave was triggered when she initially requested Massachusetts PFL benefits since it signaled her intent to pursue that avenue of compensation during her otherwise unpaid FMLA leave. The Court determined MOC was entitled to rely on Kliskey’s expressed intent to seek Massachusetts PFL instead of providing her with more sick leave pay.
Kliskey v. Making Opportunity Count, Inc. (D. Mass. Mar. 31, 2025, No. 22-cv-40123-MRG) 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60328; 2025 WL 959257.