Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, EMPLOYEE LEAVE—S.D.W. Va.: Fired CSX employee with kidney stones gets trial on FMLA retaliation claim, (Jan 21, 2026)

By Jason Albright, J.D.

When he initially asked for a day he ultimately took as FMLA leave, he told the carrier’s Crew Management Center that his children were starting at a new school.

A CSX employee with chronic kidney stones, fired after he requested a day of personal leave because his children were starting at a new school but ultimately took the day as FMLA leave after he learned that no personal leave was available, may proceed to trial with his FMLA retaliation claim, a federal district court found. According to CSX’s FMLA administrator, the only basis for believing the employee misused FMLA leave was his phone call with the carrier’s Crew Management Center requesting the day off. And the call did not conclusively establish that the employee engaged in misconduct, given his testimony that he needed to attend to both medical needs and family obligations. Additionally, he presented the carrier with a doctor’s note as evidence that his request for FMLA leave was legitimate (Pack v. CSX Transportation, Inc., No. 3:24-0688 (S.D.W. Va. Jan. 14, 2026)).

Leave for chronic kidney stones. In April 2017, according to the court, the plaintiff, a CSX employee, applied for FMLA leave for his chronic kidney stones. In the medical certification accompanying his application, his physician estimated that the condition required intermittent leave up to three times per month for one day per episode. CSX approved his application.

August 23 leave request. Then, on August 23, 2017, the employee called CSX’s Crew Management Center (CMC) to request time off. He later testified that he requested time off because he started to feel pain from his condition and believed he would need to see a doctor. And he testified that, when he called, he was transferred several times.

The call. Eventually, he and a CMC representative had the following exchange:

Employee: Uh yeah, can I get a personal day in for tomorrow cause uh my kids uh starting a new school.

CMC Desk: Let me see if one’s available. It’s not available for tomorrow there Mr. [employee].

Employee: Well: [sic] okay. well [sic] um I guess you’ll have to lay me off FMLA then.

CMC Desk: Okay, so FMLA for your kids [sic] school event; alright, understood I’ll get you laid off, okay.

Employee: Thank you.

Both/and. The employee later “testified that he needed to be off both because his kids were starting a new school and because his medical condition had started to flare up....” He explained that he initially asked for a personal day, rather than FMLA leave, so he would be paid for the day and could avoid “us[ing] up” the FMLA time for which he had been approved.

Four days. And he ended up taking four days of medical leave.

Investigation. Based on the phone exchange with the CMC representative, “CSX charged [the employee] with FMLA misuse and removed him from service pending an investigatory hearing.”

A CSX trainmaster oversaw his hearing, and CSX’s FMLA manager served as CSX’s witness. She said it was clear, based on the employee’s exchange with the CMC representative, that “[he] marked off FMLA for an unapproved reason”—so clear that “[t]here wasn’t a need” for CSX to “determine if the leave that [[the employee]] requested was actually used for FMLA protection or for purposes of the FMLA.” The FMLA manager refused to say whether CSX prohibits employees from attending to family obligations while on FMLA leave.

Doctor’s note. During the hearing, the employee testified that he saw a doctor for his flare up. He also gave the trainmaster a doctor’s note, dated August 24, 2017, which stated that the employee had been under a doctor’s care “from 8/24/17 to 8/27/27.”

Discharge and lawsuit. After the hearing, the trainmaster concluded that the employee had misused FMLA leave. CSX then fired him, and he sued, alleging that CSX interfered with his right to take FMLA leave and terminated him in retaliation for taking FMLA leave.

FMLA retaliation. The court found that the former employee could proceed to trial with his FMLA retaliation claim, having produced “sufficient evidence to establish that” CSX’s decision to terminate him was not “reasonably informed and considered....”

According to CSX’s FMLA administrator, the only basis for believing the employee misused FMLA leave was his phone call with the carrier’s Crew Management Center requesting the day off, but the call did not conclusively establish that the employee engaged in misconduct, given his testimony that he needed to attend to both medical needs and family obligations. Additionally, he presented the carrier with his doctor’s note as evidence that his request for FMLA leave was legitimate.

It was thus for a jury to decide whether the basis for his termination suggests that CSX’s decisional process may be unworthy of credence. A reasonable juror could conclude, said the court, based on the limited evidence that he misused FMLA leave, that CSX’s purported reason for terminating him was pretextual.

Interference claim. His FMLA interference claim did not survive the employer’s motion, however. CSX argued that his claim was properly analyzed as a retaliation claim rather than an interference claim, and the former employee acknowledged that “the analys[e]s of FMLA interference and retaliation claims effectively merge.” Accordingly, the court said it would “simplify this case” by granting summary judgment as to it.

The case is No. 3:24-0688.

Judge: Chambers, R.

Attorneys: Gracie L. Wendt (Casey Jones Law) for Toby Pack. Patrick M. Corley (Jones Day) for CSX Transportation, Inc.

Companies: CSX Transportation, Inc.

Cases: EmployeeLeave Discharge WestVirginiaNews