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FMLA

Experimental treatments are covered under the FMLA

01/23/2025
The Department of Labor has concluded in a letter to a medical organization that FMLA-covered leave taken by an employee with a serious health condition includes leave to participate in an experimental medical treatment.

Employee providing care for seriously ill sibling? Consider agreeing to request for FMLA leave

01/21/2025
The FMLA provides job-protected leave so employees can care for a long list of close relatives, including spouses, children and parents. The law even allows leave to care for grandchildren and grandparents if there is an in loco parentis relationship between them. But what about siblings?

PWFA excludes time to bond

01/15/2025
The PWFA requires employers to accommodate pregnancy limitations, but does not require time off to bond.

Employer lessons from 2024’s worst employee lawsuits

01/03/2025
It’s a new HR year and we’re here with some important lessons from the top four employment lawsuits of 2024. Don’t repeat these employer mistakes.

Conundrum: FMLA leave during the holidays

11/20/2024
Dec. 25 and Jan. 1 fall on Wednesdays this holiday season. Holidays falling on Wednesdays usually take the pressure off employers to give off either the day before or the day after, just to round out the week and to show some good will. But Wednesday holidays don’t eliminate all of the FMLA leave considerations you must address.

Can workers demand remote work as a form of FMLA leave?

11/18/2024
Employees who are eligible for FMLA leave sometimes don’t want to take it because it’s unpaid. However, some have begun asking to take intermittent FMLA leave on a work-from-home basis, so they can care for a sick child or other close relative and still collect a paycheck. Must employers grant such a request? It’s tricky.

PWFA: Routinely grant requests for leave to attend pregnancy-related appointments

10/16/2024
EEOC rules implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act say employers should routinely grant pregnant employees’ requests for time off to attend pregnancy-related medical appointments. It’s so clear-cut that one employer just quickly agreed to settle when the EEOC threatened to file a failure-to-accommodate lawsuit under the PWFA.

Suspect FMLA abuse? Document suspicion

10/10/2024
If you think an employee has abused FMLA leave, documentation is crucial. For example, if medical certifications doubt whether the time taken is legitimate, save that documentation before you take disciplinary action.

Never count FMLA leave against employees when tallying attendance

10/04/2024
Under the FMLA, employees who take leave for a covered reason are not supposed to be penalized for doing so. The FMLA is an entitlement statute, meaning employees who qualify for FMLA leave must receive it with no penalty. That means employers need to ensure that FMLA time off isn’t counted against the employee at evaluation time, when planning a layoff or calculating a performance bonus and so on.

Learn from EEOC’s first PWFA lawsuit: Accommodate pregnancy differently than disabilities

10/04/2024
The EEOC has filed its first lawsuit alleging violations of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Court papers outline a litany of mistakes employers make when pregnant employees ask for reasonable accommodations.