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Leave

Is this worker entitled to FMLA leave? She was out for months on workers’ comp

10/04/2011
Q. One of our employees missed several months of work last year because of a workers’ compensation qualifying injury. She has now requested leave under the FMLA. Do we have to grant this request for leave?

Can we really not fire an employee who has been called to jury duty?

09/28/2011
Q. We are a very small company and can’t afford to have an employee on extended leave. Can we legally terminate an employee who is called to jury duty and assigned to a lengthy trial?

Must we grant time off for rehab?

09/16/2011
Q. An employee recently confided to us that he has a drug problem and would like to take several weeks off to check into a rehabilitation program. May we deny his request?

What kind of time off must we grant for employees to attend school-related activities?

09/16/2011
Q. With the new school year under way, can you ­give me a rundown on the rules governing our obligation to grant workers time off to participate in their children’s school-­related activities?

Understand CFRA leave limits: Employees’ reinstatement rights last just 12 weeks

09/16/2011
The Court of Appeal of California has clarified that employees taking California Family Rights Act leave are entitled to reinstatement to the same or an equivalent job only if they return at the end of their 12 weeks of leave or earlier. They can’t take additional non-CFRA leave to ex­­­tend their return rights.

Know the FMLA rules: You must allow intermittent leave before women give birth

09/13/2011

Some employers mistakenly believe that women who want to use FMLA leave when they become pregnant can’t demand intermittent leave. Managers may be confusing FMLA provisions that apply to the time leading up to the birth of a child with those that apply to the time after the child is born (or adopted).

Must employers grant FMLA leave for an adult child’s injuries?

08/29/2011
Everyone knows employees can use FMLA to care for minor children who have serious health conditions. But what about adult children who need a parent’s care? It’s a difficult issue that straddles the complex intersection of the FMLA and the ADA, plus definitions of “disability” and “care.”

New law clarifies leave for organ, bone marrow donors

08/18/2011
Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation that spells out insurance and time-off requirements related to California’s new law that guarantees paid leave for employees who donate organs and bone marrow.

Conn. is first to mandate sick leave for service staff

08/15/2011
In what could be the start of a national trend, Connecticut lawmakers OK’d a new law that requires employers with 50 or more workers in Connecticut to provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave to their “service workers.”

Requesting light duty isn’t an official FMLA request

07/26/2011
The FMLA grants time off for em­­ployees with serious health conditions, but they must let employers know they need leave. Simply requesting light-duty work isn’t enough.