Salvatore Ziccarelli v. Thomas Dart, 35 F.4th 1079

Salvatore Ziccarelli was a long‑time Cook County Sheriff’s Office corrections officer who had a history of FMLA leave and sought treatment for work‑related PTSD in 2016.
By September 2016 he had ~176 hours remaining of his 480‑hour annual FMLA allotment and planned an 8‑week treatment program using FMLA plus sick/annual leave.
On Sept. 2016 he called FMLA manager Wylola Shinnawi to discuss taking more leave; Ziccarelli says she told him “don’t take any more FMLA…you will be disciplined”; Shinnawi gives a different account.
Ziccarelli retired effective Sept. 20, 2016 without taking the remaining leave and later sued the Sheriff, Shinnawi, and Cook County asserting FMLA interference and retaliation (among other claims).
The district court granted summary judgment to defendants on all claims; Ziccarelli appealed only the FMLA claims.
The Seventh Circuit reversed summary judgment on the FMLA interference claim (discouragement theory) and affirmed summary judgment on the FMLA retaliation (constructive discharge) claim.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether §2615(a)(1) requires an actual denial of FMLA benefits to establish interference	Interference includes discouraging or restraining an employee from attempting to exercise FMLA rights; denial not required	A plaintiff must show an actual denial or concrete adverse job consequence tied to the FMLA request	Court: Denial is not required; ‘‘interfere with’’ or ‘‘restrain’’ can be violated by discouragement or other non‑denial conduct; prejudice still required
Whether Ziccarelli presented sufficient evidence to survive summary judgment on interference (discouragement)	Ziccarelli’s testimony that Shinnawi threatened discipline if he took more FMLA and his subsequent decision not to request the leave show interference and prejudice	Defendants rely on Shinnawi’s contrary account and argue there was no denial and no prejudicial effect	Court: Crediting Ziccarelli at summary judgment creates a triable issue on interference and prejudice; reversed on this claim
Whether Ziccarelli’s retirement qualified as constructive discharge for FMLA retaliation under §2615(a)(2)	The threat of discipline for taking FMLA conveyed imminent termination, forcing him to retire	A single disputed conversation, before any request or discipline, did not make working conditions objectively intolerable	Court: Affirmed summary judgment for defendants — record insufficient to show constructive discharge

Lutes v. United Trailers, Inc., 950 F.3d 359 (7th Cir. 2020) (sets out FMLA interference elements and prejudice requirement)
Preddie v. Bartholomew Consol. School Corp., 799 F.3d 806 (7th Cir. 2015) (recognizes discouragement as a form of FMLA interference)
Ragsdale v. Wolverine World Wide, Inc., 535 U.S. 81 (2002) (discusses prejudice requirement for FMLA remedies)
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242 (1986) (summary judgment proof standard)
Chapin v. Fort‑Rohr Motors, Inc., 621 F.3d 673 (7th Cir. 2010) (constructive discharge principles)
Guzman v. Brown County, 884 F.3d 633 (7th Cir. 2018) (application of FMLA interference framework)