Olofsson v. Mission Linen Supply, 2012 WL 6200336 (Cal. Ct. App. 2012)

Lars Olofsson was a regular route driver for Mission Linen when he informed the plant manager (Jack Anderson, Sr.) that he needed seven weeks off from work to care for his elderly mother in Sweden who was recuperating from back surgery. Anderson told Olofsson he could have the leave if he filled out the application for leave and submitted a doctor’s certification. Olofsson later submitted a letter, ostensibly from his mother’s doctor that was not on printed letterhead indicating it was generated by a medical establishment. Later, the company notified Olofsson that he was ineligible for family leave because he had not worked the requisite 1,250 hours in the year preceding the leave (he was approximately 75 hours short). Further, Olofsson failed to give the company 30 days’ advance notice of a foreseeable event such as a family member’s planned medical treatment. The trial court granted judgment in favor of the employer, concluding that it did not misrepresent by deed that Olofsson’s leave had been approved and that it was not silent when it had a duty to speak under the applicable family leave regulations. The Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment.