FMLA
FMLA May Protect Leave for Visits to the Doctor
A bakery that fired an employee who left work early to see doctors concerning his prostate cancer, for which he sought Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave, has viable claims even though his doctor did not timely certify the absences for FMLA leave, a federal district court ruled. The plaintiff worked for Lewis Brothers,…
Read MoreFMLA-Qualifying Leave Must Run Concurrently With Paid Leave Policies
Employers cannot permit employees to use PTO or other paid leave prior to using unpaid FMLA leave for an FMLA qualifying condition, according to a new Department of Labor Opinion Letter. The Opinion Letter also provides that employers cannot designate more than 12 weeks of leave per year as FMLA (or 26 weeks per year if…
Read MoreMay an Employer Terminate a Disabled Employee for Excessive Absenteeism?
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently upheld a trial court decision in favor of JetBlue concerning the termination of a disabled employee due to her excessive absenteeism. Miceli v. JetBlue Airways Corp., No. 18-1345 (January 28, 2019). Many employers are apprehensive about terminating the employment of disabled employees, even when…
Read MoreNew FMLA Forms Available from Department of Labor
Executive Summary: The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released new Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) notices and certification forms on September 4, 2018. The new forms are valid until August 31, 2021, and are available for download from the DOL Website. Notably, the DOL did not make any material changes to the prior forms;…
Read MoreEmployers Often Designate Leave as FMLA Despite Objections
Employees eligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) might want to decline FMLA leave for a variety of reasons, but employers often can designate the time off as FMLA anyway. Note though that in jurisdictions covered by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the employer must allow the employee to decline…
Read MoreCan You Be Held Personally Liable In An Employment Lawsuit? The Answer Lies Down A Rabbit Hole
In “Alice in Wonderland,” the Queen of Hearts once proclaimed, “Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” This appears to be the rallying cry of many plaintiffs across the country when they file administrative charges and lawsuits. They continue to name individual supervisors and human resources directors as individual defendants…
Read MoreCurrent FMLA Forms Now Expire June 30
Some employers make tweaks to forms The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) forms expire June 30—not on their original expiration date of May 31—but aren’t likely to change when they’re replaced with new forms, experts say. Employers who customize their own forms aren’t too concerned with the imminent replacement of the current forms, while…
Read MoreFacebook Evidence of Employee’s “Fore” Play Sinks FMLA Claim
With the news that Tiger Woods will be returning to the Memorial Golf Tournament, which is just a few miles from our Columbus, Ohio office, we thought a golf-related post would be interesting. This post concerns the recent case of Sharrow v. S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. Case No.: 17-cv-11138 (E.D. Mich. Apr. 12, 2018),…
Read MoreTaking Advantage of Your Summer Break – Revisit, Refresh, and Review
Handbooks. The mere mention of the company handbook typically sends HR professionals into a furious search for any project other than the company handbook. Sorry, I can’t work on the company handbook, I have to watch the paint dry in my office. For this reason, beyond passing them off during perfunctory onboarding, handbooks typically get…
Read MoreHow Many Extensions of a Medical Leave Must An Employer Grant Under The ADA Or FEHA Before It Says “Enough is Enough”?
Managing employees on medical leave of absence is one of the most vexing human resource problems a company must manage. Not only must the company ensure compliance with any statutorily mandated leaves that may be applicable, such as FMLA or CFRA, it must also consider the medical leave process in the context of disability discrimination…
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