Rodney Jones v. Gulf Coast Health Care of Delaware, LLC, 854 F.3d 1261

Background

Rodney Jones, Activities Director at Accentia, took FMLA leave for rotator-cuff surgery from Sept. 26 to Dec. 18, 2014; doctor later said he could not resume full physical duties until Feb. 1, 2015.
Jones asked to return on light duty at end of FMLA leave; supervisor Daniels insisted on a full fitness-for-duty certification and would not accept a restricted/light-duty certification.
Jones requested and received an additional 30 days of non‑FMLA medical leave; while on that leave he posted and shared photos from Busch Gardens and a family trip on Facebook.
On returning Jan. 19, 2015, Daniels showed Jones the Facebook photos, suspended him pending investigation, and terminated him days later for alleged misuse of leave and/or social-media misconduct.
Jones sued under the FMLA alleging (1) interference with reinstatement and (2) retaliation for exercising FMLA rights; district court granted summary judgment to Accentia on both claims.
Eleventh Circuit affirmed on the interference claim but reversed and remanded on the retaliation claim, holding temporal proximity is measured from the last day of FMLA leave and that genuine disputes exist as to causation and pretext.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Accentia interfered with Jones’s FMLA right to reinstatement	Jones: Daniels blocked his attempt to return on light duty and dissuaded him from submitting a light‑duty fitness certification	Accentia: Jones waived reinstatement by taking extra 30 days of non‑FMLA leave and failed to provide a proper fitness‑for‑duty certification per uniform policy	Held: Affirmed for defendant — Jones failed to show entitlement to reinstatement (waiver/absence of proper certification and non‑uniformity not shown)
Whether temporal proximity for FMLA retaliation is measured from start of leave or last day of FMLA leave	Jones: Measure from last day of FMLA leave; his suspension/termination occurred ~1 month after return, supporting causation	Accentia: Measure from when leave began; ~4 months elapsed, too remote for causation	Held: Court adopts last‑day measure — temporal proximity measured from the last day of FMLA leave; Jones met prima facie causation
Whether Daniels’s statements and timing constitute direct evidence of retaliatory intent	Jones: Supervisor’s comments about corporate disliking leave timing and that Jones abused FMLA show retaliatory motive	Accentia: Comments are not blatant direct evidence and require inference; thus circumstantial only	Held: Statements are circumstantial, not direct evidence, but help corroborate causation when combined with timing
Whether Accentia’s proffered reasons (social‑media misconduct, poor judgment) are pretextual	Jones: Reasons inconsistent, implausible, and unsupported by investigation or policy violation; evidence shows motive to retaliate	Accentia: Legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for termination; departure from policies or morale harm justified firing	Held: Genuine issues of material fact exist as to pretext (inconsistent explanations, lack of investigation, corroborating remarks); summary judgment improper on retaliation claim

Key Cases Cited

Strickland v. Water Works & Sewer Bd. of City of Birmingham, 239 F.3d 1199 (11th Cir. 2001) (distinguishes FMLA interference and retaliation claims)
McGregor v. AutoZone, Inc., 180 F.3d 1305 (11th Cir. 1999) (FMLA provides only 12 weeks of leave)
Drago v. Jenne, 453 F.3d 1301 (11th Cir. 2006) (employer may require fitness‑for‑duty certification upon return from FMLA)
McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 (Sup. Ct. 1973) (burden‑shifting framework for discrimination claims)
Thomas v. Cooper Lighting, Inc., 506 F.3d 1361 (11th Cir. 2007) (temporal proximity must be "very close" to show causation)
Hurlbert v. St. Mary’s Health Care Sys., Inc., 439 F.3d 1286 (11th Cir. 2006) (close temporal proximity and inconsistent employer explanations can support inference of pretext)