A Michigan mother has sued the bank she worked at for over a quarter of a century, claiming they fired her for taking leave to care for her dying daughter.
Terri Estepp, 51, said she was fired from her job at the Huntington National Bank Howell branch just 10 days before her adult daughter, Samantha, died from breast cancer in 2024.
Estepp’s lawsuit claimed she attempted to take time off to be with Samantha through the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), but the bank fired her instead.
FMLA is a law that requires covered employers to provide workers with 12 weeks each year of job-protected, unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons.
Her attorneys argued that Estepp was a decorated and dedicated employee who was retaliated against for trying to use FMLA.
Estepp’s daughter, Samantha, 31, was living in California when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2023.
The heartbroken mother used all of her own vacation time and Huntington’s Caretaker Time Off program to travel to California and be with Samantha for her treatment.
However, Samantha’s condition worsened and she was hospitalized. Estepp said she used four weeks of FMLA time to take care of her daughter from March 27 to April 2, 2024.
Terri Estepp (left), 51, said she was fired from her job for asking for Family Medical Leave just 10 days before her adult daughter, Samantha (right), died from breast cancer
Estepp had worked at the Huntington National Bank Howell branch for nearly 30 years before she was abruptly fired
‘Ever the committed employee, Ms. Estepp made the decision to return to work and was back at her desk on Monday, April 29, 2024,’ the lawsuit said.
‘But Sam’s prognosis again worsened, so she called her mother and asked her to return to California.’
On April 30, Estepp said she communicated to her District Manager, Michelle Powers, that she would still need more FMLA leave to care for her daughter.
Estepp, who worked for the bank for nearly 30 years, was abruptly fired later that day, according to the lawsuit. She requested a reason for the termination, but claimed she never received one.
‘I told my employer I needed to go back to my kid. She needed me, and they showed up that day and they fired me,’ Estepp told WZZM.
‘I was in complete shock. I was not ready for anything like this. I requested medical leave or Family Medical Leave Act.
‘My previous boss had recommended that I do that, just in case I needed to take any spur-the-moment time off to care for my daughter. Within ten days of them letting me go, my daughter passed away.’
Her attorneys argued that Estepp was a decorated employee who was wrongfully terminated.
‘Throughout her service, she was consistently recognized as a top achiever, rightly so, as she devoted herself wholly to her job,’ the lawsuit said.
Her attorney’s argued that Estepp (pictured) was a decorated and dedicated employee who was retaliated against for trying to use FMLA
Estepp’s daughter, Samantha (pictured), 31, was living in California when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2023
The heartbroken mother used all of her own vacation time and Huntington’s Caretaker Time Off program to travel to California and be with Samantha for her treatment
‘Her personnel file is filled with decades of performance reviews referencing her own achievements as well as “the success of [her] branch” and her ability to bring out “the success of her colleagues.”‘
Her lawsuit is seeking an unspecified amount of relief for economic damages, liquidated damages and attorney fees for the FMLA violations.
‘[Huntington] disregarded the FMLA’s mandates and wrongfully denied [Estepp] FMLA benefits,’ the lawsuit stated.
‘[The bank’s] wrongful denials of FMLA are willful FMLA violations committed in bad faith.
‘Huntington is a sophisticated company well aware of its duties under the FMLA. It failed and refused to honor those obligations.’
Huntington National Bank denied the claim Estepp was fired for using FMLA, insisting her termination was for another matter.
‘We were saddened to learn of her daughter’s passing and extend our condolences to Ms. Estepp and her family,’ a bank spokesperson told DailyMail.com.
‘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.’
