Employee’s threat to shoot coworkers overrides FMLA, ADA claim in court

One day at work, Warren, an assistant director, had a “complete meltdown” in his office when he lost work on his computer. During his five-minute-long screaming episode — which happened in earshot of coworkers — Warren unleashed vulgar and threatening language aimed at the company’s IT employees, and said “they should be shot.”

This behavior violated the company’s workplace violence policy, giving the employer authority to fire him.

After his outburst, Warren:

• Removed himself from the immediate situation;
• Self-reported the incident to one of his supervisors;
• Left work and made an appointment with his therapist; and
• Returned to work later that day.

The employer didn’t immediately fire Warren; it told him to work from home while HR investigated the incident.

HR investigation

Warren’s therapist told the employer that he was her patient and that they had been working on managing his anger. She suggested ways the employer could help Warren avoid letting his anger boil over again.

Years earlier, Warren had received diagnoses for major depressive disorder and anxiety, but the therapist didn’t mention any disability or other mental health issues.

The HR investigation also revealed that Warren was an avid gun owner, often talked about guns with coworkers, and handed out cards for his gunsmithing business.

Employer terminates employee

The employer talked with Warren about how he could return to work. After discussing some options, the employer said that he would need to submit “something, anything…saying that…[he] was able to return to work” and “wouldn’t harm himself or someone else.”

The employer put Warren on leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and worked to connect him with professionals who could provide the return-to-work certification he needed. Warren didn’t provide the certification. The employer then fired him. He sued, in part, for being forced to take FMLA leave and not being accommodated under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Threat of violence overrides claim

The court ruled that the FMLA “says nothing about an employer's ability to ‘force’ an employee to take such leave, and such forced leave, by itself, does not violate any right provided by the FMLA.”

The court also said that “threatening other employees disqualifies one” from protection under the ADA.

Murphy v. Forest River Inc., Northern District of Indiana, No. 1:24-CV-170, September 29, 2025.