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One to Keep An Eye On: Prada v. Trifecta Productions, LLC (U.S District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division)


As with many employment and labor law related cases (and bills) being litigated around the country, there are always a few that stand out.  This is one to keep an eye on.


At the end of August, a rather novel (for the time being) lawsuit was filed by an employee that alleged his former employer unlawfully interfered and retaliated against him in violation of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”).

According to the lawsuit, Nicolas Prada (“Prada”) worked as a waiter and assistant manager at Trifecta Productions, LLC d/b/a Tomukun Noodle Bar (“Noodle Bar”).  In late June, he began experiencing coronavirus related symptoms and stayed home from work.  After testing positive three days later and quarantining for fourteen days, he texted his employer that he was medically cleared to return to work.  However, during a call with the owner of Noodle Bar, Prada claims he was interrogated about his actions prior to testing positive for the coronavirus.  The owner of Noodle Bar allegedly questioned Prada about whether he had “been out partying and acting irresponsible” and claimed that because of evidence on social media of Prada having been out in a crowd, Prada should “begin looking for work” and it was best for him to not return to the Noodle Bar.

The day after this conversation with the owner of Noodle Bar, Prada quit and brought his lawsuit against his former employer.

While this lawsuit has only recently been filed and there has not been much action so far, I would suspect that we will see similar lawsuits be filed against employers in the coming months.  Whether an employer can (or even should) terminate an employee in this situation can depend.  For instance, if an employer has a legitimate, non discriminatory, and non retaliatory reason for terminating an employee, there might be some “cover” to avoid liability under the FFCRA.  However, as others have noted, given that these cases are fact intensive and will likely vary based upon the fact set, I do not think we can apply one rule for all cases.


For a copy of the complaint in this case:  https://public.boxcloud.com/d/1/b1!rs066TjvbF3sDNKva_fNd6NgSPB5U---hbMz8hjFJF1REQWk5WJcAhNQrAwqkA4AXHsLfkFN5sDDGA-mUUNSEFTO4Ztgzt6yHuNYPukbO8DNWSmc1e9r43KKPa7qNsgMW97ewmJaF_8yDrnEz41vgTLoEIWkZv8NSAbJT1OjSe3Pn2tatbRVvjb1FRbQmB-SzVJK1NycgrFbAkVLKabvwGhQGwYQzIRTRDdFi5PdrWC8giRBW7UviN6atUEU7TIpe_p0HX2QS3xw_D6bsSt3OKboDyEqXsDKORvDopKkEhcIftR38FB_Btq-2GNkHMH20eZ3XBk0zII-rjBw0cGMF-7bkFnV9cusXWE1y8vyEa6MT4k8F7oqMClTHEURa3A9ZeZFzrU4GeSoa5VEhMWfiNzz-IXOGWNUhtft1Be01pFqFgcGSGBVkYnyJ0-Kyflv5gkXx5SUZ4T8p7nNT16WW7ArRZZ-0hHAKnM1bq0nLaKOOMWbjIO6ayK7HDZh5sOumtHoFngxCXdN4HRMrIQ6pUwJr2hAE02dUx2RncuklxFSGefhahEeQNelRZz8p3jc4bnX1lAQpCRHug_YhwVY8pgmQEV3YPbgdUE3cKs7r0E8pm-KYZ-bv88Cns5fNgBy275AOjFneZm0QoOBYGKHoTEfpOheTuYTHQgYS7DnQ7F7rhoGFcBCM_urKYPvrPR4kkHr-y3LxHmUESLuSMbEA0IwLsUHt4Lwo7QKZUn0UpA7psYUTtIHEE6h9NklYuoMaLImkmtNmn8edoYCQbI2zdkQVEct8umUPum3LRXsq7caYkKOz45ELbWrlutKcxctlcm2evB5et1LlRY6nwwIwZJY3FBBzh3KykfsQHL8dr4sTXH4SpNoVVpS3SxkpkWzOBSfAV--hUbFY7-T7E67IZ5mVleJdlz669dFrfPL6dn5delgf-blgnoSmfOEM6YUPUCevYLsr4CO4hA_Ek_5-W7XJUcNO3C8r1S0OKHZ0c-AwifFv5fyRlN5MtTsvKOcjkB2AJ0v9TLPSTFuDgmoOZK0XyDWQfBk8VTIv_omr1PguY2fZDS5q7meP_sUd81_6zEDbmYIRz52HIvYxOrZ-ErfgZy7wsl9ekikg8QXrHDbtEqrHI98BNDKFBmWiU4VQdaMa5zhXpmtOQWayjWj4cTLmq8Fa8jLS9TK6FKV8PoEfgpJqg4nm0CyJemC84eua8EuRAH2NeC6T3fL1fO316xjvdiLhbXo9XZprQbtFZFY5KiXexdeJ_bYFZOG79Np6GixVlOjzdLoSmuWgw92CA../download

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