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Audit past leave credits when crafting early retirement plan

06/01/2007

If your organization is considering early retirement as an incentive to move out highly compensated employees, do your homework first. To properly calculate seniority, you’ll need to check how unpaid leave was handled years ago …

Train managers to act immediately on leave requests

06/01/2007

Unless you train supervisors and managers to forward all FMLA requests immediately to the HR office, you may find your organization on the losing end of a lawsuit for interfering with an employee’s right to take medical leave …

Any pregnancy problem is a serious condition under FMLA

06/01/2007

When it comes to a pregnancy, employers may want to follow the safest path: Approve any absences that are even remotely related to the pregnancy as FMLA-covered time off …

No medical certificate? You can still run FMLA leave with PTO

06/01/2007

The U.S. Labor Department allows you to run FMLA leave concurrently with other paid time off. That’s your decision to make, not the employee’s. The result: no more than 12 weeks off. The same is true even if the employee never provides you with medical certification of a serious health condition …

Require certification if intermittent leave ‘Need’ might be bogus

06/01/2007

It’s one of the most challenging FMLA problems: An employee with a chronic health condition says she needs intermittent leave and uses it as an excuse to take time off whenever she wants. You suspect she’s taking advantage of your organization, but worry that turning her down may trigger an FMLA lawsuit …

Existing attendance policy ignored? Start enforcing rules now

06/01/2007

If your managers have been less than consistent about enforcing attendance policies, suddenly sticking to the rules could prompt lawsuits. But you can start enforcing the rules now without triggering trouble if you do it the right way …

Recalled employee may be eligible for FMLA leave

06/01/2007

When employees are temporarily laid off with the right to return during a recall, all the regular rules for FMLA time off apply on the day of the recall. That’s because a break in service doesn’t destroy the employee’s eligibility …

In FMLA case, you must be present before you can leave

06/01/2007

A woman who worked for the Philadelphia Water Department lost her FMLA claim because she did not meet the basic employment qualifications …

Clarify employee’s leave status the easy way: Jusk ask

06/01/2007

If your organization has a strict attendance policy, you naturally want to make sure you don’t miscount FMLA absences in the tally, or you risk an interference-with-leave lawsuit. But how are you supposed to know whether an absence is for an FMLA reason? If the employee never gives a reason for an absence or simply says he or she is sick, that’s not enough to require further inquiry on your part …

Extend your grief benefits beyond simple bereavement leave

05/15/2007

Your organization probably allows grieving employees to take a few paid days off when a family member dies. But employees who lose loved ones are unlikely to return to normal in just a few days.