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FMLA

Concurrently running FMLA leave, vacation time and short-Term disability

05/27/2008
Q. Our policy requires an employee out on FMLA leave to run any accrued vacation or sick time concurrently with FMLA leave until that time is used up. (At that point, the FMLA leave becomes unpaid.) We also have a short-term disability (STD) policy that kicks in after seven consecutive days and lasts up to eight weeks. A pregnant employee recently requested 10 weeks of FMLA leave, starting upon the birth of her child. She currently has 3½ weeks of accrued vacation time. Can we require her to use up all of her vacation time once she goes out on maternity leave, even though she is also receiving STD payments? …

What should we include in our updated employee handbook?

05/27/2008
Q. Our company is looking to revise and update its employee handbook. This will be the first update in several years. Is there anything specific that we should focus on to make sure that we are up-to-date? …

Warn employees: No FMLA certification, no excused absence

05/23/2008
If employers take a lackadaisical approach to medical certifications, they might be issuing an invitation to abuse FMLA leave. Remind your employees that they must provide FMLA certifications—and that refusing to cooperate will result in the time off being counted as unexcused absences. The consequence: possible termination …

Employee has used all FMLA leave? Assess disability status before terminating

05/23/2008
The FMLA entitles employees to up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to deal with a serious health condition. That doesn’t mean, however, that you should immediately terminate an employee who can’t return to her job right away. That could violate the ADA …

After learning of possible serious medical condition, what are our legal obligations?

05/23/2008
Q. An employee told us he has a bad hernia. He wants to wait a couple months to have the operation, since it requires six weeks’ recovery. He does some lifting in his job. Yesterday, he had to go home early because he was in pain. Now that we are aware of his condition, what’s our liability? And what should we do?

What to do about employee who takes long leaves for medical problems?

05/23/2008
Q. We’re a small business with eight employees. One employee frequently takes off for six to eight weeks with medical problems. She’s done this each year for the past three years. It’s a huge burden because very few people have her training, so we can’t hire a temp. How long do we have to allow her to disappear for weeks at a time?

FMLA: You can request proof worker’s parent has serious health condition

05/20/2008
As “sandwich generation” employees begin caring for their parents in addition to their kids, you can expect more requests for FMLA leave to tend to mom’s and dad’s medical needs. The FMLA allows employee leave to provide parental care—if the parent’s medical condition actually qualifies for FMLA leave. A federal court says you can ask for medical certification.

What counts as an ‘FMLA week’: 40 hours?

05/15/2008

Q. How should I calculate the number of hours to charge to an employee’s 12-week FMLA entitlement? We have employees who work 40, 55 and 64 hours per week. Do we give them a 12-week cap or do we extend the weekly amount to cover the amount of weeks it would take to cover 480 hours (which assumes a “standard” 40-hour week)?


Putting employee on FMLA leave: Who decides?

05/15/2008
Q. I’m confused about medical certifications and employees who don’t want to use FMLA leave. Can I, if I believe the employee is out for an FMLA condition, force him to take FMLA leave? — A. B., Florida …

Co-Worker couples: FMLA leave cut in half

05/15/2008
Q. I’ve heard that if both parents work for the same company and they have a child, they’re only allowed to take a combined 12 weeks of FMLA leave. Is that true? — J.S., Pennsylvania