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FMLA

Employee saying he ‘May’ have medical problem triggers FMLA

01/01/2008

Once an employer knows an employee will need FMLA leave, it cannot use that knowledge to the employee’s disadvantage. That’s true even if it’s only possible that the employee may need leave. It raises serious suspicions about your motives if you fire an employee shortly after he delivers notice he may need FMLA leave—and practically guarantees a lawsuit …

Corzine, Sweeney push worker-Paid family leave bill

01/01/2008

Gov. Jon Corzine and State Sen. Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, are pushing a bill that would make New Jersey the third state to offer mandatory paid leave to employees to care for a new child or sick relative. Sweeney originally proposed 10 weeks of leave, but said in November he would consider cutting that to six weeks if it would get the proposed plan passed …

Worker receiving disability benefits: Can we substitute unpaid FMLA for paid leave?

01/01/2008

Q. My employee, who is a union member, has a nonwork-related injury that requires a six-week absence from work. In the meantime, she is receiving $300 per week through a union trust fund that provides her and other covered union members with short-term disability benefits. She also has requested and was placed on FMLA leave. We’d like her to substitute any unpaid FMLA leave with paid leave, which is our usual company policy when someone is out on FMLA leave. Is there a problem with doing this in this situation?

Suspect employee plays fast and loose with FMLA leave? Check medical certification

01/01/2008

Employers are entitled to information about the FMLA intermittent leave employees take and can request certification from the employee’s health care providers. Employers then have to abide by the certification—unless the employer receives information that casts doubt on the certification …

Tell employees when you plan to charge time off to FMLA

01/01/2008

When an employee takes leave to deal with a serious health condition, be sure to inform her that you plan to charge the time against her allotment of unpaid FMLA leave. If you fail to do so and the employee later runs out of leave and loses a benefit, it will be relatively easy for her to sue and show she was somehow harmed by the lack of notice …

FMLA amended: Will new law open door to further changes?

12/18/2007

For the first time since it became law in 1993, the FMLA is on the verge of being amended. The House and Senate approved broad leave protections for the family members of miltary men and women, and the president is expected to sign the legislation into law. Will the amendments open the floodgates to further changes? How will that affect employers?

You can insist on complete Labor Dept. FMLA form

12/04/2007

Intermittent leave is one of the trickiest areas of the FMLA. While employees with chronic health conditions may need short periods of time off when their conditions flare up, employers also know FMLA intermittent leave is prone to abuse. That’s why it’s important to immediately nail down the expected frequency and duration of intermittent leave …

Don’t force FMLA leave unless health condition is serious

12/01/2007

The FMLA allows employers to designate time off as FMLA leave even if employees want to use other time off (such as vacation and personal days) to deal with serious health issues. But be careful—if the time off turns out to be for a health condition that wasn’t serious and you later deny FMLA leave because the employee has none in the bank, she can charge you with interference with her FMLA rights …

Beware informal policy on returning after pregnancy

12/01/2007

Many employers try to simplify medical leave policies by adopting the same eligibility requirements set by the FMLA. But those same employers sometimes make exceptions for select employees, especially if they are seen as too valuable to lose to a short medical leave. Watch out if that’s your informal practice. Denying that flexibility to pregnant employees probably violates the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act …

Do temporary employees count?

12/01/2007

Q. We’re a small company with about 45 employees, but we have another 20 employees who are temporary. Do we have to count the temps when complying with the EEO or other employment laws? …