In a recent case, an employee sued his company for an FMLA violation. The kicker: He also sued for back pay when he missed work due to stress he claimed the company caused.

Here’s what happened:

In a fairly cut-and-dry FMLA case, a sick employee requested FMLA leave and was turned down. He sued, and the court ruled the leave was wrongfully denied.

But that wasn’t all. The employee was also awarded $1,110 in back pay “for days he missed work because of stress or other mental problems resulting from the wrongful denial of FMLA leave.”

The court noted that FMLA doesn’t allow plaintiffs to collect money for punitive damages or emotional distress. But in this case, the judge said, the stress caused the employee actual monetary losses in the form of missed work. Therefore, he was entitled to collect the extra cash.

Cite: Farrell v. Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon

Tags: back pay, emotional distress, Family and Medical Leave Act, FMLA, punitive damages