Olofsson was a delivery driver for the Mission Linen company. In 2004, he went to Sweden for about five weeks (nonvaction time) to visit his parents. The plant manager, Jack Anderson Sr., had said Olofsson could go if he filled out the proper slip. Olofsson filled out the slip and went through the proper company procedures with the payroll clerk Ruth Clark. Once the paper was filled out with Clark’s help, the paper then must be authorized by the company. After Olofsson returned from his trip, his elderly mother informed him that she would be undergoing extensive back surgery and asked him to come take care of her during the recovery process. Olofsson said that Anderson (an area manager) said he could go if he filled out another form and turned in a doctor’s note. However, Clark told him that Anderson was not authorized to grant him medical leave and they had to wait for a response from HR. She also said that the doctor’s note had no letterhead and did not look as if it had come from a legitimate medical establishment. Clark then gave Olofsson a government form that the doctor filled out and faxed back. Oloffson went to Sweden, and after he was there he was informed by executives that he did not work enough hours that year to qualify for medical leave and thus he was terminated. Olofsson sued for wrongful termination in that even though he didn’t work enough hours that year and his papers had never been authorized by executives, he was led to believe that he could take the medical leave. How do you think the court decided?
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