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FMLA

How much FMLA leave for unwed parents?

04/20/2009

Q. We employ the unwed parents of a newborn child. They have requested FMLA leave to care for their child after birth. Both parents are eligible for leave, but we would like to limit their leave to a combined total of 12 weeks during the 12-month leave period. Can two parents of the same newborn be limited to a combined total of 12 weeks of leave under the FMLA?

Employers aren’t required to offer intermittent FMLA leave for birth, adoptions

04/17/2009

If an employee is taking FMLA leave to care for a newborn or to adopt a child, you can require the person to take any planned FMLA leave in one session. FMLA intermittent leave is not guaranteed for birth and adoption the way it is for other serious conditions that require periodic care.

Boss triggers lawsuits? Review all decisions

04/14/2009

If you have a manager or supervisor whose decisions have caused lawsuits that you have lost, be on your toes the next time that manager has to make an employment decision. Make absolutely sure that you can pin the decision on some objective reason.

Discovered performance problems while worker was on FMLA leave? You can fire him

04/14/2009

What if you discover during an employee’s FMLA leave that the employee wasn’t as stellar as you always believed? What if you couldn’t have known that until you hired a temporary replacement. Must you bring the employee back? No, according to a recent 7th Circuit Court of Appeals decision.

What is the employee’s responsibility to notify us she needs FMLA leave?

04/14/2009

Q. We received a note from an employee’s physician simply stating that she was ill. On one occasion, she had to go to the emergency room from work, and she subsequently called in sick one day about a month or two later. Is this sufficient notice under the FMLA to require us to regard this as a request for extended FMLA leave?

Check overtime, other pay practices: DOL cracking down after scathing report

04/14/2009

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is preparing to crack down on employers who stiff workers out of overtime pay after a government uncovered a pattern of ignoring alleged employer wrongdoing. As enforcement gears up, we’ve got resources you can use to make sure you’re in compliance.

Beware last-ditch efforts to claim FMLA leave

04/07/2009

Sometimes, an employee whose job is in jeopardy will try to protect it by initiating a lawsuit intended to intimidate her employer. She may call in sick instead of showing up for a termination meeting, hoping to create an FMLA retaliation or interference claim. Here’s how to handle such tactics.

When employee returns from FMLA leave, ensure position is truly equivalent to former job

04/07/2009

Employees who return from FMLA-covered maternity leave are supposed to come back to the same or a substantially equivalent position. Don’t make the mistake of offering a position that has the same title and pay, but which involves very different duties. That’s especially true if those duties are more onerous for a new mother.

How does an employee’s FMLA leave status affect how we conduct a layoff?

04/07/2009

Q. I am the HR manager of a company with about 350 employees. I have just learned that the company is eliminating one product line and, as a result, there will be a layoff in that department. One of the employees who would be laid off is on FMLA leave. How do I handle this situation? …

Remind employees: FMLA doesn’t promise reinstatement if leave extends beyond 12 weeks

04/02/2009

If you provide more than 12 weeks of disability leave, make sure that your employee handbook and policies spell out that employees may lose the right to return to their previous positions if they exceed the 12 weeks of unpaid leave guaranteed by the FMLA.