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FMLA

What should we do when an employee provides conflicting FMLA certification notes?

10/12/2010
Q. An employee seeking FMLA leave presented medical certification from her doctor that stated that her medical condition didn’t prevent her from performing the essential functions of her job. A few days later, she presented a second form that stated the opposite. Can we hold her to the first certification, or do we have to accept the second form and grant FMLA leave?

Department of Labor to study FMLA usage; may signal more upcoming regulatory changes

10/12/2010
The DOL announced it plans to conduct a study next year of how employees use leave under the FMLA, a move that could be a sign the agency is planning more regulatory changes to the law. The timing of this announcement suggests any FMLA regulatory changes won’t be rolled out until 2011 at the earliest.

When it comes to firing offenses, be sure you can show you treated everyone equally

10/08/2010

Especially in a lousy economy, fired employees will look for a reason to sue. You must be able to defend every discharge against possible discrimination and retaliation claims. The only safe approach is to document that you treated every employee equally. You simply can’t cut slack for one employee and not another.

Make sure you ask for FMLA certification each time employee says she needs leave

10/08/2010

If an employer wants to challenge a request for FMLA leave, it must give the employee 15 days to get a medical certification showing she has a serious health condition. Until the employer makes the request, the 15-day period doesn’t start running. Disciplining or firing the employee before the time is up will most likely be considered an FMLA violation if it turns out the employee really did have a serious health condition.

FMLA: What to do when worker refuses OT

10/08/2010
Some employees don’t like being told they have to put in OT, especially if they have medical conditions that make it difficult to work extended hours. However, you are within your rights to insist on overtime. Employees with a serious health condition that precludes working extra hours may have to go on intermittent FMLA leave.

Can FMLA be taken to care for parent overseas?

10/07/2010
Q. One of our employees has a sick parent who lives in another country. She wants FMLA leave to care for the parent. Is FMLA available under the circumstances? And how would I verify the authenticity of a foreign medical certification?

Unpaid overtime meets the FMLA: The two-headed monster waiting to trip you up

10/05/2010

Many part-time employees don’t qualify for FMLA leave because they haven’t worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period immediately preceding the leave. But now some hourly employees and their attorneys are trying a new approach, claiming employers failed to count so-called off-the-clock work toward FMLA eligibility. It’s a wake up call: You must track every hour your employee works.

After a brief FMLA leave, can we request a second opinion to make sure the worker is ready to return?

10/04/2010
Q. We have an employee returning from FMLA leave. His physician has issued a fitness-for-duty certificate. However, we have doubts about the worker’s ability to perform his job because he wasn’t off work very long … Can we send him to another physician for a second fitness-for-duty examination?

Beware discipline after return from FMLA leave

10/04/2010

Employees are protected against retaliation for taking FMLA leave. Disciplining an employee who has just returned from such leave is risky, especially if you can’t point to anything truly objective as the reason. Attributing a “poor attitude” to returning employees is a bad idea unless you can provide specific examples of actual work deficiencies.

Courts look at unpaid, off-the-clock work when tallying 1,250-hour FMLA threshold

10/04/2010

Many part-time employees don’t qualify for FMLA leave because they haven’t worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period immediately preceding the leave. But now some hourly employees and their attorneys are trying a new approach: They’re claiming that employers failed to count so-called off-the-clock work toward FMLA eligibility.