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FMLA

Don’t fire before knowing employee can’t return from leave

10/01/2007

Employees are guaranteed only 12 weeks’ unpaid FMLA leave per year and have no right to return to their jobs if they can’t make it back after their time is up. But that doesn’t mean you should prepare the paperwork to terminate the employee on the day their leave expires. Wait until you get medical documentation showing the employee can’t return …

Ohio poised to mandate generous family leave

10/01/2007

The Ohio Civil Rights Commission has proposed a new statewide policy to guarantee 12 weeks’ maternity leave to mothers working for companies with as few as four employees, with no minimum length of service. The law would replace Ohio’s existing law, which requires companies to give a “reasonable period of time off,” a standard which has been confusing …

FMLA intermittent leave and hours worked

10/01/2007

Q. We have an employee with a chronic health condition who began taking FMLA intermittent leave in February. She had worked more than 1,250 hours in the 12 months before the leave started. By June, she had dropped below 1,250 hours. Does she lose her eligibility now? …

No right to full pay for light-Duty work

10/01/2007

Some employees qualify for FMLA leave because they have a temporary medical problem that prevents them from performing their usual job. Often, they’ll elect to accept a light-duty position instead of taking 12 weeks’ unpaid leave.
Light-duty jobs often come with a lower paycheck, presumably because so many of those positions are really “make-work” jobs typically used to accommodate on-the-job injuries. What happens if the employee elects light duty and demands his or her regular pay? Does he or she have that right under the FMLA? Not according to the 7th Circuit …

Understanding how Illinois leave laws overlap with FMLA

10/01/2007

Illinois employers must comply with numerous state leave laws, in addition to the federal FMLA. To track leave usage, employers must understand which state leave laws overlap with the FMLA …

Make sure employees know your policies on moonlighting

10/01/2007

Do your employees ever take time off (whether vacation, personal time or even FMLA leave) to work a second job? You can’t do much about that unless you have a solid policy that prohibits moonlighting. Otherwise, employees on leave are free to spend that time any way they want, even working for someone else or in their own business …

Pregnancy: Run disability leave concurrent with FMLA?

10/01/2007

Q. We provide short-term disability leave to new mothers. Is there any reason we can’t run that leave concurrent with FMLA leave? —S.B., Washington …

Can you force a worker to get FMLA certification?

10/01/2007

Q. We want to run paid time off concurrent with FMLA leave so employees don’t receive more than 12 weeks off (paid and unpaid combined). What if an employee says she’s taking vacation time, but we know it’s for medical tests? Can we force her to get a medical certification so we can subtract the paid vacation time? —L.L., Georgia …

Do holidays count when calculating FMLA or CFRA leave?

10/01/2007

Q. When determining the amount of leave an employee has used, do holidays count against the 12-week entitlement under the FMLA or the California Family Rights Act (CFRA)? …

Employees have no unilateral right to pick shifts under FMLA

10/01/2007

You no doubt know how hard it is to juggle shifts and schedules to accommodate employees who need FMLA time off. You rely on those employees to tell you as far in advance as possible that they need time off, and then rearrange schedules and workloads to be as accommodating as possible. You can and should be a stickler for getting as much notice as possible. Don’t worry: FMLA doesn’t permit an employee to unilaterally demand you immediately assign him or her to a different schedule …