Leave

From workers’ comp to part time: Can we reduce employee’s leave benefits?

04/25/2013

Q. We have an employee who was out on workers’ comp and has recently returned to work part time. (She is still collecting partial workers’ comp benefits.) Can we adjust her vacation and personal leave time to reflect the limited hours she’s working, or is she entitled to the full amount of days?

Unmarried employee couple is expecting: Can both take FMLA leave?

04/23/2013

Q. A while ago two of our employees developed a romantic relationship. They are now expecting a baby and both workers put in a request for family leave to bond with their newborn. Are we required to give both workers leave for the birth of their child—even if they are not married?

Any downsides to a no-fault attendance policy?

04/11/2013

Q. We are thinking about implementing a no-fault attendance policy. We hope it will provide clearer absenteeism rules and make it easier for managers to enforce. Are there any downsides?

Expedia pays employees to take their vacations

04/05/2013

The irony wasn’t lost on execs at online travel giant Expedia when they learned that most of its employees weren’t taking all of their vacation time. So the Bellevue, Wash.-based organization started paying them to go.

Must unused ‘floating holidays’ be paid?

03/29/2013

Q. We gave eligible employees a “floating holiday” in lieu of having Dec. 31 as a paid holiday. We generally pay employees for all unused vacation, sick and personal time upon termination, but we have no policy regarding an unused floating holiday. Do we have to pay workers for any unused floating holidays upon termination?

Pregnancy problems? PDLL is minimum leave

03/20/2013

If an employee is experiencing pregnancy complications, it may not be enough to provide four months of leave under California’s Pregnancy Disability Leave Law. For practical purposes, four months is the minimum leave employers are required to provide. You may owe more time off under the California FEHA, as long as it doesn’t create an undue hardship on your business operations.

Consider ADA if sick worker needs more leave

03/20/2013

Employees who are temporarily unable to perform their jobs because of a disability are entitled to reasonable ADA accommodations. You’ll want to think about starting the interactive accommodations process as soon as a potentially disabled employee asks for more than the usual amount of leave.

New pregnancy protections ring in the New Year in California

01/22/2013

California employees now enjoy expanded pregnancy rights after new Fair Employment and Housing Commission regulations took effect Dec. 30, 2012. The regulations bar employers from discriminating against employees for virtually any pregnancy-related condition.

Can we offer exempts extra vacation bonuses?

12/18/2012

Q. Can we give an exempt employee a bonus of extra vacation days in addition to the standard accrued time off outlined in our employee handbook?

If you agree to a late return date, extend employees’ reinstatement date, too

12/12/2012

The Minnesota Parental Leave Act provides up to six weeks of leave for childbirth and recovery or adoption. Employees who take leave are entitled to reinstatement. It also includes a provision for extending parental leave, stating that leave “may not exceed six weeks, unless agreed to by the employer.” Until now, it remained up in the air what should happen to the reinstatement right if the employer agreed to a longer leave.