Preview:

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA No. 7-334 / 06-1750 Filed June 27, 2007

PHYLLIS REELFS, Plaintiff-Appellant, vs. EMPLOYMENT APPEAL BOARD, Defendant-Appellee. ________________________________________________________________

Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Patrick R. Grady, Judge.

Phyllis Reelfs appeals from a district court ruling that upheld the decision of the Employment Appeal Board denying her claim for unemployment compensation benefits. AFFIRMED.

J. Richard Johnson of White & Johnson, P.C., Cedar Rapids, for appellant. Richard Autry, Des Moines, for appellee.

Considered by Huitink, P.J., and Zimmer and Vaitheswaran, JJ.

2 HUITINK, P.J. Phyllis Reelfs appeals from the district court ruling that upheld the decision of the Employment Appeal Board (Board) denying her claim for unemployment compensation benefits. We affirm the district court. I. Facts and Prior Proceedings Reelfs began working at the University of Iowa in 1985. In September 2004, while working as a secretary, she started to use sick leave and vacation time to cover work missed for various mental health issues. Her last full day of work was September 24, 2004. Reelfs filed a request for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Over the next four months, Reelfs supplied her

employer with numerous notes excusing her from work. Each note excused her from work for a specific period of time. As a note neared expiration, she would arrange to have a new note sent to her employer. On January 19, 2005, the employer requested documentation in order to finalize the approval of the designation of FMLA leave. Reelfs did not respond to this request. The last medical note received by her employer excused her absence through February 9, 2005. Reelfs did not appear for work on February 10 or contact her employer. On Friday, February 11, her employer drafted a letter stating the following: This notice is to advise you of our withdrawal of FMLA designation of your current leave due to your failure to provide the requested documentation as stated in my memo to you on January 19th. Your FMLA protected leave therefore ended December 31, 2004. In order for your continued absence to remain authorized, we require a medical certificate or other appropriate verification, pursuant to Article IX,

Download PHYLLIS REELFS, Plaintiff-Appellant, vs. EMPLOYMENT APPEAL BOARD, Defendant-Appe

Iowa Law