Auto Components Maker, Ex-Employee Keep away from Trial by Settling FMLA Dispute

A former machine operator at an auto parts manufacturer in Virginia who claimed he was wrongly dismissed for absenteeism for taking a sheltered vacation to care for his sick wife settled his lawsuit on the eve of the trial, according to federal court files and a lawyer in the case.

Atsumi Car Equipment Inc. said Keith Safewright resigned voluntarily, but the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia ruled in March 2020 that a jury could determine that Safewright was terminated in violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act after it left him in suspension for five days after he …