Third Circuit Confirms Individual Supervisor Liability Under the FMLA for Both Public and Private Employers

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has, for the first time, confirmed that private and public sector supervisors can be held individually liable under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Haybarger v. Lawrence County Adult Prob. & Parole, No. 10-3916, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 1776 (3d Cir., Jan. 31, 2012). Based upon the plain language of the FMLA, it had been well-settled (just not yet by the Third Circuit) that individual liability exists under the FMLA for private sector supervisors. However, there is a split amongst the circuit courts over whether public sector supervisors could be held individually liable under the FMLA. With its conclusion in the affirmative, the Third Circuit now has joined the Fifth and Eighth Circuits, while the Sixth and Eleventh Circuits hold that individual liability does not extend to public sector supervisors.