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New military spouse leave law raises many questions

11/01/2007

When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed California Assembly Bill 392 into law on Oct. 9, he and the legislature gave California employers only the sketchiest outline of how the new military spouse leave law will work. A few things are clear about the law, which amends the California Military and Veterans Code. First, only employers with 25 or more employees in the United States are covered …

Temp agency employees and the FMLA

11/01/2007

Q. Must an employer using the services of a temporary agency comply with the FMLA for its temporary or leased employees? …

Leave-Of-Absence accommodation and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination

11/01/2007

Q. I have an employee who has a handicap, as that term is broadly defined under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD). It would not qualify as a disability under the ADA. I know that a reasonable accommodation under the ADA can include a short leave of absence. In the absence of an ADA disability, do I have to provide a leave of absence as an accommodation for a handicap under NJLAD? …

Is there any requirement to offer vacation benefits?

11/01/2007

Q. Must I offer vacation time to my employees? If I do, must I pay terminated employees for their unused vacation time? …

Time off beyond FMLA may be reasonable accommodation

11/01/2007

The FMLA gives eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year. Employers are free to discharge employees who cannot return to work after that time is up—that’s legal under the FMLA. But before you fill out that pink slip, consider whether the employee may be disabled under the ADA. If so, he may be entitled to more time off as an accommodation …

Don’t let FMLA trip you up: Have HR investigate leave abuse

11/01/2007

You expect employees to follow your attendance and time-reporting rules and probably discipline those who don’t. But you need to know that FMLA leave can be an attendance minefield where disciplinary actions can cause great damage. Employees who allege that employers “willfully” interfered with their FMLA rights or retaliated against them for taking FMLA leave have up to three years to sue. One way to prevent the willful violation charge is to take the employee’s supervisor out of the disciplinary process …

What to do after salaried employee maxes out leave

11/01/2007

Q. I have a salaried employee who used all his vacation and sick time. He is allowed a total of 21 days and has used 22, but he wants to take more vacation in November and is always sick (so he’ll probably be out more). Can I deduct his pay if he’s out more? Or can I take days from next year? This may be an ongoing thing every year …

Attract and keep great employees with these 5 ‘Best practices’ benefits

10/23/2007

As the HR profession celebrates National Work and Family Month—you knew October was National Work and Family Month, didn’t you?—it’s time to stock up on innovative benefits ideas from U.S. employers. From wellness incentives to “future leave,” these best practices help attract and retain great workers …

Try these top 5 low or no-Cost benefits

10/16/2007

The unemployment rate is down again, and employees are saying they want more money to stay put. Maybe it’s time to brush off some of the low- or no-cost benefits we used back in the late 1990s to attract and keep good employees.

Is it time to stop tracking employees’ vacation time?

10/09/2007

Plenty of companies use paid time off banks in lieu of rigid leave plans that designate a specific number of days for vacation, sick and personal time off. Now newer leave plans are going even further, doing away with the concept of tracking leave time altogether. Weigh the pros and cons when deciding whether unlimited leave is right for your organization.