"At issue in the appeal was whether an employee can affirmatively decline using FMLA leave, even though the underlying reason for leave would have been FMLA protected leave. To this question, the court answered, 'yes.' ... [T]he court focused on the FMLA regulations' expectation that the employer engage in an informal process to obtain additional information about whether the employee is seeking FMLA leave.... [T]he court's reasoning is contrary to the common understanding that employers designate an absence as FMLA leave whenever it is taken for an FMLA-qualifying reason, regardless of what the employee might want.... [T]he regulation states that the employer designates once it knows the absence is for an FMLA-qualifying reason." [Escriba v. Foster Poultry Farms, Inc., No. 11-17608 (9th Cir. Feb. 25, 2014)]  MORE >>