FMLA
Unlimited Time Off Presents Hidden Challenges for Employers
We have increasingly been fielding inquiries from organizations that are looking to implement some version of unlimited time off for their employees. They saw that employees continued to be productive while working remotely during the pandemic, and they want to give them the flexibility to take time off as/when needed – provided the work still…
Read MoreWorkers Compensation Claim? Light Duty? Remember The FMLA!
A recent decision out of the Eleventh Circuit is a good reminder for employers on how the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and state law workers compensation schemes overlap and interact. The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal statute that entitles eligible workers who need to recover from a serious injury to take…
Read MoreFMLA Allows Leave for Mental Health Treatment, DOL Reminds Employers
The Family and Medical Leave Act protects time off for mental health treatment, the U.S. Department of Labor reminded employers May 25. The agency released two guidance documents — Fact Sheet #280: Mental Health Conditions and the FMLA and Frequently Asked Questions on the FMLA’s mental health provisions — to help employers and workers understand…
Read MoreIntersection of ADA, COVID-19 Requires Creative Reopening Policies, EEOC Official Says
The EEOC has received hundreds of charges involving both COVID-19 vaccination and the ADA, according to Evangeline Hawthorne, the agency’s Tampa field office director. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has received thousands of charges related to COVID-19 since the pandemic began. As of December 2021, more than 2,700 charges were related to COVID-19 vaccines,…
Read MoreWhen Might an Employer Question FMLA Certification?
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) certification of a serious health condition must be complete and sufficient, but sometimes it’s neither. Employers rarely take a hard line but instead ask employees to provide more information to finish out the certification. Here are some tips on how to recognize something is wrong with the certification and…
Read MoreADA May Require Additional Leave Following FMLA Exhaustion, EEOC Reminds Employers
The Americans with Disabilities Act may require additional leave for workers who exhaust their Family and Medical Leave Act entitlements, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission warned in a recent press release. The agency said a trucking and property management company will pay $65,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging the employer violated the ADA by…
Read MoreDepartment of Labor to Add 100 Wage and Hour Investigators
The U.S. Department of Labor will add 100 investigators to support its Wage and Hour Division, the agency announced Feb. 1. Investigators will conduct investigations to ensure workers are receiving their full wages, promote compliance through outreach and public education programs and aid in efforts to fight against worker retaliation and the misclassification of workers…
Read MoreEmployers Weigh Whether to Rescind Vaccination Policies
Now that the vaccine-or-testing emergency temporary standard (ETS) from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been withdrawn, employers that have instituted mandatory vaccination or vaccine-or-testing policies are deciding whether to stay the course or backtrack. The U.S. Supreme Court recently blocked OSHA’s vaccine-or-testing rule, an ETS that applied to employers with at least 100…
Read MoreEmployer May Terminate Employee After Remedial Action for FMLA Noncompliance
In Watson v. Drexel University, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that an employer may terminate an employee for taking unauthorized leave after the employer had corrected an earlier mistake in its Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) certification requirements. In Watson, an employee requested authorization for FMLA leave for personal illness after…
Read MoreRequiring Proof of Vaccination? What You Need to Know
In connection with the recent surge in COVID-19 cases caused by the Delta variant, many businesses have begun to require that employees—and sometimes contractors, volunteers and patrons—provide proof of vaccination. This may come in the form of requests for voluntary disclosure, or in connection with employer vaccine policies, or pursuant to newly issued mandates from…
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