Court Allows Southwest Airlines' FMLA Retaliation Claim to Proceed, Dismisses ADA Claim

BALTIMORE (LN) — U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher on April 6 denied Southwest Airlines Co.'s motion to dismiss a retaliation claim filed by former ramp agent Wes A. Curry Jr., ruling that the airline failed to show the employee's allegations of punishment for taking medical leave were legally insufficient.

Curry, who is self-represented, sued the carrier after his employment ended in October 2023. According to the complaint, the company mishandled his medical absences, issued a final warning for "FMLA abuse," and terminated him following a Crohn's disease flare-up that caused him to miss a flight.

The court dismissed Curry's claim for failure to accommodate under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Judge Gallagher noted that Curry's EEOC charge only alleged discrimination and retaliation regarding his discharge, failing to mention a request for reasonable accommodation.

"Because Plaintiff's administrative charge did not mention failure to accommodate a disability on the occasions he now tries to claim, Count II of the Fourth Amended Complaint must be dismissed," Judge Gallagher wrote. She ordered the ADA claim dismissed with prejudice as time-barred.

However, the judge allowed the FMLA retaliation claim to survive the motion to dismiss. She held that Curry adequately alleged a causal link between his use of protected leave and the issuance of a final warning that threatened future discipline.

The court rejected Southwest's argument that the final warning was not an adverse action. Citing Fourth Circuit precedent, Judge Gallagher held that a letter of warning including a threat of termination qualifies as an adverse employment action in the retaliation context.

Southwest also argued that Curry's termination was too remote from his leave usage in March and May 2023 to establish causation. The court disagreed, noting the final warning was issued just weeks after Curry exhausted his FMLA hours and that the airline allegedly mischaracterized his leave record to justify the discipline.

The case remains pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland as Curry seeks to prove his allegations of pretext regarding the alleged false badge-swipe data and the airline's refusal to investigate the accuracy of the records.