A former Huntington Bank employee is suing after she says she was fired after taking the Family Medical Leave Act.
Terri Estepp was taking time away from work to be with her young adult daughter, who was dying of cancer.
Estepp had been with Huntington Bank for nearly 30 years and was the branch manager at the Howell location when she was fired.
Estepp had taken various leaves of absence to be with her 31-year-old daughter in California as she underwent treatment.
“I would go out there and help her with the chemo treatments and different things,” Estepp said. “I used a lot of PTO time because I had vacation time. I’d been there for almost 30 years, so I had plenty of time.”
As time passed, Estepp took some days off through Huntington’s Caretaker Time Off program and eventually filed for the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
In Spring 2024, Estepp’s daughter’s condition worsened, and she took 28 days off.
She returned to work and informed them she would need to take time off again to visit her daughter.
That same day, she was fired.
“Within ten days, my daughter died,” Estepp said. “They fired me on a Tuesday (and) she passed away on the following Friday.”
Estepp claims she was never given a reason for her firing.
Estepp filed a lawsuit in federal court, alleging that Huntington Bank wrongfully denied her FMLA benefits.
“I want people to know that what they did was wrong, so they don’t do this to someone else,” Estepp said.
Huntington Bank responded to Local 4’s request for comment with the following statement.
“We were saddened to learn of her daughter’s passing and extend our 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.
“Ms. Estepp’s departure from Huntington Bank was unrelated to an FMLA leave of absence.”