Whether an employer's honest but mistaken belief about an employee's FMLA-protected leave precludes liability under the Family and Medical Leave Act

QUESTION PRESENTED The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 makes it unlawful for an employer to “interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of [] any right” provided under the Act. 29 U.S.C. § 2615(a)(1). An employer who violates the Act is liable for actual damages, interest, and liquidated damages but may avoid liability for liquidated damages if the employer proves that it acted “in good faith” and “had reasonable grounds for believing” that its action “was not a violation of section 2615.” 29 U.S.C. § 2617(a)(1)(A)(iii). The question presented is: Is an employer who terminates an employee because it honestly, but mistakenly, believed that the employee’s leave was not protected by the FMLA still liable for actual damages and interest as the Ninth Circuit has held, or is the so-called “honest belief rule” a complete defense to liability as the Third, Seventh and Tenth Circuits have held?