As a father of three, I tend to take interest in "feel good" stories about working parents. However, in a recent ABA Journal article, an article about a working dad caught my attention for a far different reason. The article highlighted Ariel Ayanna, who recently filed suit against his employer claiming he was terminated after taking FMLA leave following the birth of his son. Ayanna v. Dechert LLP.

The Facts

Ayanna was employed as an attorney at the Boston office of Dechert LLP, an 800-attorney international law firm. According to Ayanna, he was progressing well within the firm until he took time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Prior to his leave, he had received two years of stellar performance evaluations and a $30,000 bonus in the year prior to his termination.

During his second year at the firm, Ayanna's wife became pregnant with the couple's second child. This, however, was no ordinary pregnancy. Ayanna claims in his complaint that his wife suffers from borderline personality disorder, long-term post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder and general anxiety disorder. During the pregnancy, he claims that his wife's personality disorder "deteriorated to the point that she attempted suicide." Thereafter, upon birth of his child, Ayanna utilized four weeks of paid paternity leave plus additional time provided for under the FMLA to care for mom and baby.

According to Ayanna, when he returned from FMLA leave, his employer retaliated against him by incessantly criticizing and even poking fun at him for being the primary caretaker for his children. He also claims that the law firm assigned him less work as a result. On the day of his termination, Dechert gave Ayanna a negative evaluation that he claims improperly called him out for "'personal issues' [that] interfered with his meeting the employment requirements at Dechert."