Regina Coates v. Southwest Airlines Company, No. 15-1455 (8th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseCourt Description: Per Curiam - Before Wollman, Bye and Gruender, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Family Medical Leave Act. The district court did not err in granting defendant summary judgment on plaintiff's FMLA discrimination and entitlement claims.
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United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 15-1455 ___________________________ Regina D. Coates lllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiff - Appellant v. Southwest Airlines Company lllllllllllllllllllll Defendant - Appellee ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas - Little Rock ____________ Submitted: November 12, 2015 Filed: January 7, 2016 ____________ Before WOLLMAN, BYE, and GRUENDER, Circuit Judges. ____________ PER CURIAM. Regina D. Coates appeals the district court’s1 adverse grant of summary judgment in her action under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Upon de novo review, see Burciaga v. Ravago Americas, LLC, 791 F.3d 930, 934 (8th Cir. 1 The Honorable Susan Webber Wright, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas. 2015), we agree with the district court that there were no jury issues on Coates’s FMLA discrimination claim, see Hudson v. Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc., 787 F.3d 861, 866 (8th Cir. 2015) (discrimination claim arises when employer takes adverse action against employee for exercising rights to which she is entitled under FMLA; where employer bases its adverse decision on honestly-held belief unrelated to FMLA, it is not discriminatory even if belief is mistaken); or on her FMLA entitlement claim, as she was granted such leave, see Quinn v. St. Louis County, 653 F.3d 745, 753 (8th Cir. 2011) (for interference (also known as entitlement) claim, employers are prohibited from interfering with, restraining, or denying employee’s exercise or attempted exercise of any right contained in FMLA; while interference includes discouraging employee from using such leave, employee must also show that employer denied employee entitlements under FMLA). The judgment of the district court is affirmed. ______________________________ -2-
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