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U.S. trails the world on paid maternity leave

04/14/2011

You can count the number of nations lacking a definitive law providing paid maternity leave on one hand—and still have two fingers left over. Guess what. One is the United States. That’s what Human Rights Watch found when it studied family leave practices worldwide.

How to ensure your employee handbook supports FMLA compliance

04/12/2011

Employers are free to develop their own policies, but many laws have an absolute mandate—you must ensure employees receive proper notice of your policies. That’s why the FMLA section of your handbook is so important. Here’s your roadmap to full compliance with the FMLA’s notification requirements.

Offer FMLA, but still enforce attendance rules

04/06/2011

Employees occasionally have to step in on short notice to help care for a family member and may legitimately need FMLA leave to handle those responsibilities. Go ahead and suggest FMLA time off. However, until the employee takes you up on the offer, you can hold her to your regular attendance policy.

States consider letting employers offer comp time

04/01/2011

For years, business groups have unsuccessfully lobbied Congress to give employers the option to substitute compensatory time off for overtime pay—an option currently allowed for public employers. Now, some state legislatures are taking up the cause.

Boss nagging employee about FMLA leave? Prepare for lawsuit

03/31/2011

Short staffing makes management difficult. When an employee is out on medical leave, others have to pick up the slack. Still, remind supervisors that they can’t push employees who are out on FMLA leave to perform work while on leave. They also can’t ask employees to return early from FMLA leave. Either one is just asking for legal trouble.

Worker returning from FMLA leave? You can refuse to reinstate

03/31/2011

Under the law, an employee who takes FMLA leave is entitled to return to the same position he or she held when leave started or to an equivalent position. However, there are situations when employers can refuse to reinstate workers returning from FMLA leave—but only under limited circumstances.

Employees can’t relitigate state case in federal court

03/29/2011

If an employee loses a case in state court and then doesn’t appeal, he can’t just march into federal court.

Employees, employers embrace S.F. paid leave ordinance

03/23/2011

Employees and employers alike have embraced San Francisco’s generous paid sick leave law, according to a new survey by the nonprofit Institute for Women’s Policy Research. The law, enacted in 2007 after being approved by San Francisco voters, requires employers to credit workers with one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours they work.

Under a PTO plan, how should we handle payouts when employees quit or get fired?

03/22/2011

Q. Our company is considering replacing sick leave and vacation benefits with a paid time off (PTO) system. Under a PTO plan, how should we handle it when an employee resigns or is terminated?

Nice work if you can get it: 12 years of full-time time off