Department of Labor finds Portland employer illegally terminated worker with serious health condition after failing to recognize circumstances

Employer:      Owens Corning Roofing and Asphalt LLC

                        3750 NW Yeon Ave.

Portland, OR 97210                                                                                                     

Investigation findings: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found the roofing and asphalt manufacturer terminated an employee wrongfully and violated the worker’s rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Investigators determined that Owens Corning Roofing and Asphalt illegally fired the employee after absences related to a FMLA-qualifying serious health condition. 

Division investigators found the employer directed the worker to provide a medical recertification earlier than permissible under FMLA regulations. The employer’s failure to recognize extenuating circumstances led to the employee’s accrual of absences exceeding the company policy for FMLA-qualifying leave, leading to the employee’s improper suspension and termination. 

Back Wages Recovered:       $38,398 in back wages for lost compensation and benefits.

Quote: “Workers should not have to choose between their jobs and their health,” said Wage and Hour District Director Katherine Walum in Portland. “Federal law allows for critically needed workplace flexibilities precisely when employees need it the most. The U.S. Department of Labor will defend workers’ rights and hold to account employers who take away their rights.”

Context: In fiscal year 2022, the agency recovered more than $32.9 million in back wages for 17,127 construction industry workers. The agency completed more than 2,200 investigations in FY22 in the construction industry and by wages recovered, the industry ranks first among the low wage, high violation industries investigated by the agency. 

Learn more about the FMLA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, including an FMLA Compliance Assistance Toolkit, or contact the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).

Employers and workers can call division staff confidentially with questions, regardless of where they are from, and the department can speak with callers confidentially in more than 200 languages through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Download the agency’s new, free Timesheet App for android devices, available in English and Spanish, to help track work hours and pay.