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FMLA

Tell managers: No comments on family planning

01/11/2010

Some comments simply aren’t appropriate in the workplace—especially when the person weighing in is a supervisor or manager. Most bosses understand they can’t use ethnic or racial slurs, but many don’t understand that the same common sense applies to discussing family planning.

What are our notice requirements for responding to an employee’s FMLA request?

01/11/2010

Q. We have an employee who just told us she needs leave to care for her son, who is in the hospital. What are our time restraints in responding to the request?

How much advance notice can we demand when an employee wants to take FMLA leave?

01/11/2010

Q. How much notice should an employee give an employer before taking FMLA leave?

Can we retroactively designate FMLA leave?

01/11/2010

Q. We have an employee who is on leave for two weeks to care for her ill husband. She is also pregnant and has told us she wants to take FMLA leave after she gives birth. We haven’t yet designated her current time off as FMLA leave. Can we do so and cut her entitlement by two weeks?

Does calling in ‘sick’ constitute FMLA notice?

01/11/2010

Q. Is calling in “sick” sufficient notice that an employee needs FMLA leave?

FMLA isn’t ‘discipline shield’: Fire for unrelated actions

01/06/2010

Employees sometimes think taking FMLA leave—or even just asking for the time off—protects them from being disciplined or discharged. But Congress never intended the FMLA to act as a shield against legitimate discipline that’s unrelated to the leave. That’s why you’re free to discipline or discharge employees if you can prove you would have taken the same action regardless of the FMLA leave or request.

FMLA ‘stress leave’: When must you allow it?

01/05/2010

Employees often claim their jobs stress them out. And for some, it’s so bad they feel they need to take off work to cope. That doesn’t mean, however, that employees are automatically entitled to use FMLA leave for stress. When does stress rise to the level of a "serious health condition" covered by the FMLA?

2009 in labor and employment law, from A to Z

01/05/2010

Our friends at the law firm of Fisher & Phillips LLP recently published this entertaining look at the employment law year that was. From A (the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) to Z (zealously), 2009 was a busy year for those who track employment law trends.

Employee stressed out by possible discipline? That’s no reason to halt the process

01/05/2010

Go figure: Some employees get stressed out when they suspect they’re facing serious discipline or even termination. That understandable anxiety doesn’t mean you have to stop the disciplinary process. Unless the employee asks for FMLA leave or otherwise gives you enough information to indicate that she has a serious health condition—and not just nerves—you can go ahead with your investigation.

Tell employees on FMLA leave: No working from home

12/30/2009

Because FMLA leave is an entitlement, employers aren’t allowed to interfere with it. And interference can include requiring employees to perform work during their leave. That’s why it’s important to make arrangements for work to be completed without help from the employee on leave.