Leave

Don’t treat pregnancy-related absences differently than other medical absences

04/11/2012

If you provide additional leave or special arrangements for someone recovering from a heart attack or broken leg, you must provide them for a pregnant employee, too. Otherwise, you may be violating the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.

Vacation leave: A 5-part plan & sample policies

04/01/2012

You wouldn’t dream of having informal payroll policies, right? Yet too many employers treat vacation time—a form of compensation—as a casual entitlement. Getting too informal can cost you. Here are the five key elements a sound vacation policy addresses—plus two sample vacation policies you can adapt for your organization.

Can we force forfeiture of vacation days?

03/29/2012

Q. Under our company policy, an employee who fails to give 20 working days’ notice before resigning forfeits any earned vacation days. Is this policy lawful?

Exclude FMLA leave from attendance discipline

03/29/2012

Here’s a basic way to avoid FMLA trouble: Before punishing an employee for poor attendance, double-check whether any of the time she’s missed was for FMLA leave. That way, there’s no question about whether FMLA leave was a factor in discipline.

Worker returning after leave? Just say, ‘Welcome back!’

03/23/2012

Here’s a tip that doesn’t cost anything to implement and may prevent a lawsuit: When employees return from an illness, medical leave or other absences, make them feel welcome—and don’t publicly focus on any lingering problems.

Considering denying insurance benefits? Always seek expert legal advice first

03/19/2012

It used to be that before an employee or former employee could get into federal court with a benefits-denial case, he had to show that he was a “plan participant.” But following a recent 9th Circuit decision, merely claiming to have been a plan participant is enough.

Taking part-time job during medical leave isn’t misconduct

03/14/2012

Employees out on disability or FMLA leave sometimes need to supplement their incomes. Taking a part-time job within medical restrictions is one solution. That may seem disloyal. But firing the employee will probably make her eligible for unemployment benefits.

Cash out or roll over PTO: What are the tax implications?

03/13/2012

Q. Employees who don’t use all of their paid time off (PTO) lose it at the end of the company’s fiscal year. Management wants to amend this policy to give employees the option of selling back their unused PTO days to the company at their current pay rates or rolling over the PTO days into the next year. Before Payroll gives its final OK to this plan, we’d like to know if we’re missing anything.

When worker returns from FMLA leave, it’s OK to assign equivalent job at different location

03/13/2012

Employees who take FMLA leave are entitled to return to their job or to an equivalent one. If the FMLA absence necessitated hiring a replacement, there’s no obligation to remove or transfer the new hire—as long as the returning employee receives an equivalent position. That position can even include a transfer to a different location …

Manage work, play with formal vacation policy

03/05/2012

Many workers routinely skip vacations, handing back to employers more than $21 billion in unused vacation time each year. In fact, vacation is good for business—it lowers employee stress and prevents burnout. Consider your vacation policy an important element of your organization’s health.