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FMLA

On the DOL’s regulatory horizon: WHD rules, ‘right to know’

04/03/2013

The most recently released regulatory agenda of the DOL focuses on three major areas: 1. A “plan/prevent/protect” strategy that seeks to achieve compliance with workplace laws each and every day. 2. A departmental commitment to openness and transparency. 3. Reducing employee risk.

Ensure FMLA eligibility before approving leave

04/03/2013
Here’s a problem that’s quite common for employers with several work sites spread far apart and one common HR department. Many employees may be eligible for FMLA leave, but some may not be if they work at a location with fewer than 50 employees that’s located within 75 miles of the main office.

Reinstate employee to equivalent job after FMLA leave

04/03/2013
When an employee finishes FMLA leave, she is entitled to return to the same or an equivalent job. The reinstatement provision gives employees some flexibility. How­­ever, it’s a mistake to think it’s OK to return the employee to any old job.

When employee has used up FMLA leave, consider additional time off under the ADA

03/29/2013
It’s a perennial puzzle: How should employers handle it when an em­­ployee has an FMLA-covered serious health condition that is also an ADA disability? Answer: Consider FMLA leave the minimum amount of un­­paid leave the employee can take.

You could personally pay for FMLA violations

03/29/2013
Some federal labor laws provide extra incentive for managers to understand how to administer them. The FMLA is one of those laws. It provides for individual liability for those who are responsible for approving FMLA leave and ensuring the employer follows the law on leave and reinstatement.

DOL issues final FMLA regs addressing military leave

03/25/2013
Final regulations issued by the Department of Labor implement the FMLA’s military exigency and caregiver leave provisions and make some additional clarifying changes to the FMLA regs in general.

Does time in alcohol rehab count for FMLA leave?

03/18/2013
Q. If an employee is admitted to a nonmedical facility for alcohol addiction, can this leave qualify under the FMLA? If so, what documentation is acceptable? Can a letter from the facility be substituted for medical documentation?

Is our employee entitled to take FMLA leave so she can try out a new job?

03/15/2013
Q. The minor child of one of our employees has a disability. She was approved to be his personal care attendant and requested FMLA leave to see if she would like to do this as a job going forward … I know FMLA is available to care for a child, but can she use FMLA as a way of trying out a new job?

Instead of firing after FMLA and disability leave, consider reasonable accommodations

03/15/2013

Do you automatically terminate employees who aren’t ready to return to work after using up all available FMLA and short-term disability leave? If so, you may be asking for an ADA refusal-to-accommodate lawsuit. The better approach: Determine if reasonable accommodations might help the employee return to work despite lingering problems.

Clairvoyance not required to ID need for FMLA

03/15/2013

Under the FMLA regulations, if an employee is incapacitated, someone else can notify the employer, whose FMLA obligations are then triggered. But that doesn’t mean that a co-worker merely telling a supervisor that the employee is “sick” works as notification. Employers are entitled to better notice than that.