As technology evolves, so does the body of law along with it. A recent ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth District underscores this point.

As described by Columbus, Ohio, attorney Jamie LaPlante on her law firm's blog, the case in question involved a woman suffering from irritable bowel syndrome who was employed by Ford Motor Co. Ford felt that her job required her to be on-site most, if not all, days of the workweek. As her malady became worse, though, her desire to work from home to address her physical condition began to increasingly clash with Ford's insistence that she come to work.

As LaPlante writes: "The employee utilized intermittent FMLA leave over a period of time when she could not report to work due to her condition. Ford permitted the employee to work from home on a trial basis, but the trial proved unsuccessful because the employee could not establish regular and consistent work hours to effectively interface with others to perform her job duties.