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FMLA

Feel free to discipline employees even if you discover wrongdoing during FMLA leave

10/14/2014
Some employees mistakenly believe that if they can just get FMLA leave approved, their employer can’t discharge them. Fortunately, that’s not true.

When is an employee covered by the FMLA?

10/07/2014
Q. An employee has worked for us for 12 months, but the service has not been consecutive. Does he still qualify for leave under the FMLA?

Court: Don’t send FMLA notices via snail mail

09/30/2014
Typically, courts have recognized the “mailbox rule,” in which documents sent by regular postal mail are assumed to have reached the designated person. But a federal appeals court ruling is making employers question whether sending FMLA notices via regular mail is still acceptable.

Is an employee entitled to take FMLA leave to care for her hospitalized adult child?

09/26/2014
Q. Would FMLA leave apply to an employee who requests leave time to care for her daughter who is over age 21 and married? The daughter’s illness required hospitalization, but her husband is overseas on active duty with the military.

Inpatient treatment for alcoholism enough to prove disability to court

09/26/2014
Workers alleging disability discrimination generally have to show that they have a condition that substantially limits a major life function. But they don’t necessarily have to drag a doctor into court. They can prove a condition such as alcoholism by showing that they underwent inpatient treatment and suffered withdrawal symptoms while there.

Want to gauge readiness to return to work? Provide list of essential job functions

09/26/2014

Employees who take protected FMLA leave are only entitled to return to their jobs after leave if they are cleared to perform that job. Employers that want a specific fitness-for-duty certification must ask for more than just the certification. They also have to provide the employee with a list of the job’s essential functions for the doctor to use when assessing fitness for duty.

Spell out FMLA rules before worker is eligible

09/19/2014
Employees have to wait a year before becoming eligible for FMLA leave. But you should let them know about the law and what benefits it provides before they hit their one-year anniversary. This is especially true if you have been denying time off for a serious health condition during the first year.

Discipline for problems discovered during FMLA

09/17/2014
Some employees seem to think that their employer can’t punish them for violating company rules if they happen to be on FMLA leave when their employer finds out. They think the FMLA protects them broadly from consequences. For­­tu­­nately, that’s just not true.

Why do workers take FMLA leave?

09/16/2014
According to a new Department of Labor report, these are the top reasons workers take FMLA leave.

Common sense: It’s OK to urge employee to use paid leave instead of unpaid FMLA

09/02/2014
Most employers try to run unpaid FMLA leave concurrently with other paid leave, such as sick leave. But sometimes, it may be simpler to encourage the employee to just take a few days of paid vacation or personal leave rather than dealing with the FMLA paperwork. That’s OK.