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FMLA

Don’t let FMLA request stop legit discipline

09/10/2009

Employees sometimes think taking FMLA leave—or even just asking for the time off—protects them from being disciplined or discharged. Not so. Employers are free to discipline or discharge employees if they can show they would have taken the same action even if the employee never asked for or received FMLA leave.

Beware ADA retaliation trap if employee asks for more time off after FMLA leave expires

09/10/2009

Employees who take their full 12 weeks of FMLA leave and can’t return to work lose their FMLA job protection. But that doesn’t mean they’re not still protected by the ADA. In fact, if an employee who can’t yet return to work asks for a reasonable accommodation—such as additional time off or a reduced schedule until she is ready for full-time work—you should consider the request.

How does disability leave work with the FMLA?

09/10/2009

Q. We have an employee out on a medical leave who is collecting short-term disability benefits. We have also designated the leave as FMLA leave. Our FMLA policy allows us to require the employee to use accumulated paid leave benefits concurrently with FMLA leave. Can we reduce this employee’s paid leave bank for the FMLA time he is taking?

2009 is ‘year of employee benefits’; more in the pipeline for 2010

09/08/2009

Employee benefits have been in the national spotlight right from the start of 2009. From the new FMLA and ADA rules that took effect in January to today’s white-hot health care debate, employers are dealing with important changes and “could-be” changes. Let’s look back at the year in benefits and ahead to what could be coming.

Does the FMLA cover leave after a relative dies?

09/08/2009

The FMLA seems straightforward in theory, but in real life, it’s full of tricky and delicate nuances. For example, what happens upon the death of a relative for whom an employee on FMLA leave has been providing care? How does compassion square with the law’s requirements?

Beware of pitfall when employee represents himself

09/08/2009

Employees who think they’ve suffered discrimination sometimes have a hard time finding a lawyer to represent them. Then, instead of accepting that maybe they don’t have a case worth pursuing, they file their own suits and try to represent themselves. Take those cases seriously.

Am I permitted to communicate directly with employees’ medical professionals?

09/08/2009

If an employee’s FMLA medical certification is incomplete (required information is omitted) or insufficient (the information provided is vague, ambiguous or nonresponsive), an employer is now entitled to request additional information directly from the employee’s health care provider, subject to certain key limitations.

Retaliation applies to former employees, too

09/08/2009

Here’s a potential trap you may not have considered: Punishing a former employee may be retaliation, too. That means that you must carefully consider anything you do involving a former employee before you act.

Beware firing ill employee after FMLA expires

09/02/2009

Employers sometimes have the mistaken belief that employees with serious health conditions who have used up all their FMLA leave can be terminated if they can’t return to work. That’s simply wrong. In fact, those employees may be entitled to reasonable accommodations—including additional time off—under the New York State Human Rights Law and the New York City Human Rights Law.

Military family leave: DOL regs spell out employee rights

09/02/2009

In January 2009, the DOL issued new FMLA regulations that incorporated the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008, which granted new leave rights to family members of employees in the military. The regulations, for the first time, defined what a “qualifying exigency” is under the law that entitles military families to take leave. Qualified exigencies are divided into seven categories: