Mom Says She Was Fired After Taking Medical Leave to Care for Daughter

• A Michigan mother is suing her former workplace, claiming they unlawfully fired her after she took family medical leave to care for her daughter with breast cancer
• Terri Estepp, 51, claimed she was fired by her district manager after returning to work following her time away, when she asked to use FMLA to take more leave after learning her daughter’s “prognosis again worsened”
• “Ms. Estepp’s departure from Huntington Bank was unrelated to an FMLA leave of absence,” the company said in a statement to WDIV-TV, in part

A Michigan mother is suing her former workplace, Huntington Bank, claiming they unlawfully fired her for taking family medical leave, according to a new complaint.

Terri Estepp said she used up her vacation and paid time off — including four days of family medical leave — to visit and take care of her daughter Samantha, who was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer in April 2023, reports local stations WZZM-TV and WDIV-TV.

“I would go out there and help her with the chemo treatments and different things,” Estepp, 51, told WDIV-TV. “I used a lot of PTO time because I had vacation time. I’d been [at the company] for almost 30 years, so I had plenty of time.”

She alleged in her complaint, obtained by PEOPLE, that she had sought to use time off with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which lawfully provides employees with “up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year” for “certain family and medical reasons,” according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s website.

Estepp stated in the complaint that she was on leave from March 27 to April 26, 2024 — which had been “the longest time off” she received — and returned to work on April 29, 2024. However, the following day, when she asked to use FMLA to take more leave after learning her daughter’s “prognosis again worsened,” she claimed she was fired by her district manager.

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“I was in complete shock,” Estepp told WZZM-TV. “I was not ready for anything like this. I requested medical leave or Family Medical Leave Act.”

Estepp noted in her complaint that her daughter Samantha died on May 10, 2024, a little over a week after she says she was fired from her job at the bank. She claimed in court documents that she “never received a specific basis for termination or wrong” from her bosses at the time.

She also alleged that prior to taking leave from the company, she had received “consistently stellar reviews and innumerable accolades,” per court documents. Additionally, she claimed that her personal file at the company was filled in “performance reviews” referring to her achievements and her “ability to bring out the ‘success of her colleagues.’ ”

This prompted Estepp to filed a lawsuit in federal court on Monday, Feb. 3, against her former employer, alleging that they wrongfully denied her FMLA benefits by terminating her employment.

According to the complaint, Estepp is asking for economic and liquidated damages, attorneys fees, interest and costs and “all the relief deemed just and proper.”

In a statement to WDIV-TV, Huntington Bank said that the company was “saddened to learn” of Estepp’s “daughter’s passing” and extended their “condolences to Ms. Estepp and her family.”

“While Huntington Bank does not comment on active litigation, we are committed to compliance with all employment laws, including the Family and Medical Leave Act, and we acted appropriately in this matter,” the company said.

“Ms. Estepp’s departure from Huntington Bank was unrelated to an FMLA leave of absence,” they added in the statement.

Estepp’s lawyers at Salvatore Prescott Porter & Porter, PLLC, as well as reps for Huntington Bank, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment on Wednesday, Feb. 5.