Hospital Loses Bid to Toss Employee’s Covid-Related Firing Suit

A hospital worker fired for calling in sick when she contracted Covid-19 may proceed with Family and Medical Leave Act claims against her employer Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, a federal court ruled.

The hospital sought dismissal on the grounds that Tauhedah Cryor didn’t suffer a “serious health condition” as defined by FMLA regulations because she didn’t undergo two or more instances of treatment, defined as “an in-person visit” under the law.

Cryor sufficiently alleged extenuating circumstances prevented her from seeking in-person treatment because her doctor wasn’t seeing patients in-person at the time due to the Covid pandemic, the ...