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FMLA

Require health clearance before FMLA return

03/05/2015
When one of your employees takes FMLA leave, you may require a fitness-for-duty exam showing she is fully able to perform her job before you allow her to return. As long as you require everyone who takes FMLA leave to undergo such exams, the rules authorize you to discharge workers who can’t or don’t provide certification before their return.

Firing for attendance? FMLA doesn’t count

03/03/2015
Here’s something to remember when you are ready to dismiss an employee for poor attendance: You can’t use any FMLA leave as a negative factor, and you can’t include any FMLA leave when tallying absences.

Use updated FMLA forms–at least for the rest of March

03/02/2015
With almost no advance notice, the federal government has revised recently expired FMLA forms to reflect a new effective date: March 31, 2015. The core suite of FMLA forms—doctors’ certifications of serious health conditions, notices of rights and responsibilities and designation notices—was set to expire Feb. 28.

FMLA rights extended to all same-sex spouses

02/26/2015
The rule change grants FMLA leave rights to same-sex spouses even in states that do not sanction or recognize gay marriage.

Beware handing out discipline so soon after FMLA request

02/20/2015

When it comes to the FMLA, courts always pull out their stopwatches and calendars to see how closely the employee’s protected activity (requesting or taking FMLA leave) coincides with the adverse action (discipline or firing). As this case shows, the smaller the time, the bigger your risk of liability.

Choose one: Total disability or accommodation

02/10/2015

Here’s something to consider if a discharged disabled employee who simply could not do her job sues, alleging disability discrimination. Check to see if she has applied for disability benefits and get a copy of the application. If she didn’t qualify her disability by claiming she could perhaps do some work if reasonably accommodated, she may have killed her chances to argue she was qualified for her old position, too.

Invoke FMLA when employee can’t do job

02/09/2015

Sometimes a pregnant employee develops problems that amount to a temporary disability. Then she may need accommodations. But if those accommodations don’t allow the employee to perform the essential functions of the job, you can place the employee on FMLA leave. If she can’t return to work when her FMLA entitlement is up, you may terminate the employee without violating the FMLA.

OK to base discipline on pre-FMLA absences

02/04/2015

Until an employee has logged 12 months of service with her employer, she’s not eligible for FMLA leave. After she becomes eligible, you can’t use FMLA-related absences against her. But what about absences occurring before she became eligible? Can you count those? The answer is yes.

The ideal: Those who handle discipline shouldn’t have access to FMLA info

02/04/2015
If you have a large enough HR office, it makes good sense to keep the FMLA request-and-approval process separate from the disciplinary process. Doing so ensures that someone with expertise in FMLA administration handles the entire process.

Changing employees’ job duties or hours during FMLA leave? Have good reasons

02/04/2015
Employees who take FMLA leave are generally entitled to come back to their old jobs when they return. If you make any changes to their jobs, be sure you can document solid business reasons that are unrelated to FMLA leave.