Nevada Dept. of Human Resources v. Hibbs
An employee of the Nevada Dept. of Human Resources brought suit alleging that the Department violated the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) by denying him leave to care for his sick wife. The district court concluded that the FMLA claim was barred by the 11th Amendment, which makes Nevada immune from suit. The court of appeals reversed, holding that the family medical care provision of the FMLA was a valid exercise of congressional power under section 5 of the 14th Amendment, the Enforcement clause. The court found that (1) Congress specifically intended to abrogate state sovereign immunity when enacting the FMLA
Question Presented:
Whether 29 U.S.C. ยง 2612(a)(1)(C), the family medical care provision of the FMLA, is a proper exercise of Congress's power under Section 5 of the 14th Amendment, thereby constituting a valid
exercise of congressional power to abrogate the states' 11th Amendment immunity from suit by individuals.
