Freelain v. Village of Oak Park

Freelain worked as a police officer for five years before Sergeant Vardal made what Freelain perceived as inappropriate and unwelcome sexual advances toward him. According to Freelain, he was not the only person subjected to Vardal's sexual harassment. After Freelain rebuffed Vardal’s invitations, he claims, she escalated a pattern of harassment and hypercriticism of his performance. After an incident prompted him to report the misconduct, Freelain began experiencing migraine headaches and other medical conditions that he has attributed to stress related to the harassment. As Freelain began taking time off, tensions rose between him and the police department. Freelain claimed that as a result of his medical condition and use of leave time, the village retaliated against him in violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act, 29 U.S.C. 2601, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. 12101. The Seventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of the village. The acts that Freelain has identified as retaliation would not discourage a reasonable employee from exercising his rights under the statutes. Freelain was allowed to take all the unpaid leave he wanted or needed. His claims assert that doing exactly what the FMLA allows—placing an employee on unpaid leave—violated the anti-retaliation provisions of the FMLA and ADA. View "Freelain v. Village of Oak Park" on Justia Law