A Michigan woman, who was reportedly terminated from her position at Huntington Bank after utilizing family medical leave to care for her terminally ill daughter, has levied a lawsuit against her former employer. Terri Estepp, whose tenure at the bank spanned nearly three decades, alleges wrongful termination following her leave granted under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

Estepp's case, as outlined in federal court documents, indicates that she used her accumulated paid time off and additional FMLA leave to support her daughter Samantha during her cancer treatments. Samantha was battling triple-negative breast cancer, a diagnosis that came in April 2023, CBS News Detroit reported. However, despite Estepp's long history of positive performance reviews, she claims her employment was abruptly cut short the day after she sought further FMLA leave due to her daughter's declining health.

The loss was compounded as Samantha passed away on May 10, 2024, a mere ten days after her mother was let go from Huntington Bank. Estepp was never given a clear reason for her dismissal, an omission that only deepened the anguish of her and her daughter – with Samantha expressing guilt at the notion that it was her illness that led to her mother's unemployment, the New York Post conveyed through Estepp's recounting.

"I want people to know that what they [the bank] did was wrong, so they don't do this to someone else," Estepp said, as the New York Post reported. In the resulting lawsuit, she seeks economic and liquidated damages, attorneys' fees, interest, and costs – hoping for retribution and, perhaps, a means of preventing future injustices against employees in similar dire conditions. While maintaining regulatory compliance, Huntington Bank stated that they "acted appropriately in this matter," though opting not to provide details due to ongoing litigation.