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Leave

After the fact, employee can’t claim illness caused absence

04/02/2009

Sometimes, employees hesitate to tell supervisors about their medical problems, especially if they feel there’s a stigma associated with the condition. But if the employee misses work and is fired, she can’t use the medical excuse to get unemployment compensation benefits.

Juggling vacation, military and family leave under new FMLA regs

04/02/2009

The FMLA now requires employers to give employees serving in the military (or who are next of kin to service members) up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave under specific conditions. While few employers begrudge military families such leave, unforeseen leave can pose scheduling problems as employers come into the summer vacation season.

Spell out FMLA intermittent leave timing in handbook—or risk a million-dollar mistake

03/30/2009

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a verdict of more than $1 million in an FMLA intermittent leave case involving a foreign adoption. The sad fact is that the employer could have avoided the entire problem by studying up on intermittent leave and adoption.

North Carolina Legislature considers new employment laws

03/30/2009

Barely two months into the 2009-2010 session, the North Carolina General Assembly has already introduced a profusion of employment-related bills. Employers should keep a watchful eye on several bills that already appear to have strong support this new legislative year.

Can we deduct partial days off from salaried employees’ accrued leave?

03/26/2009

Q. If a company tracks employees’ vacation, sick and personal time off, can we make deductions from accumulated time for everyone who takes time off, including salaried employees? I’m talking about deducting it from the accrual, not the pay. I’ve heard that I can’t deduct vacation, sick leave or personal time if the salaried employee worked at least four hours during that day.

Working during FMLA leave: Should we stop it?

03/24/2009

Q. We have an employee in her third week of maternity-related FMLA leave who comes to work to check her e-mails, make some work calls, etc. How should we handle this? Could there be liability issues because there’s no doctor’s release yet?

Zero tolerance for tardiness: Legal but unwise

03/24/2009

Q. Our company’s owner is tired of tardiness and has instituted a new rule that says anyone who is tardy will be fired, no matter the reason. Recently, some people were tardy during a snowstorm when their train could not make it on time. We were told to fire them. What do you think?

Can we deduct hourly FMLA leave for exempt staff?

03/24/2009

Q. We have an exempt administrative employee who is on intermittent FMLA leave. She’s unable to work on Fridays for two or three hours due to a serious health condition. By policy, she must use any accrued sick leave when she is out sick, typically in whole-day increments. Can we charge her sick time in hourly intervals because she is utilizing FMLA intermittent leave even if we charge her in larger blocks when she is just plain sick?

What happens to accrued PTO leave when an employee separates?

03/20/2009

Q. Our company is considering replacing sick leave and vacation benefits with a paid time off (PTO) program. How are these plans treated upon the termination or resignation of an employee?

Are telecommuters part of FMLA head count?

03/13/2009

Employees are eligible for FMLA benefits if they have worked for their employer for a total of one year and at least 1,250 hours in the last 12 months. The criteria don’t stop there. Employers must comply with the FMLA if they employ 50 or more workers within 75 miles of the employee’s workplace. But what if some of those employees work out of their homes?