FMLA

You don’t have to offer FMLA leave to let worker travel with sick spouse

04/01/2003

Courts keep pushing the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) boundaries, letting employees take job-protected leave for circumstances other than physically providing care to a sick family member.

Simple pain complaint doesn’t count as FMLA notice.

03/01/2003

A worker who previously fractured his coccyx told his boss he was “in pain from his tailbone” and needed to go to the doctor that day. Although the boss told him …

‘Possibility’ of serious illness wins coverage

02/01/2003

The rule has been drummed into your brain: An employee can take job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) if he suffers from a …

FLSA, FMLA enforcement reaches record highs

02/01/2003

If you thought the regulatory watchdogs would become lap dogs under the Bush administration, you were wrong. In fiscal 2002, the U.S. Labor Department collected $143 …

Don’t raise performance bar solely on workers taking FMLA

01/01/2003

Talk about a multimillion-dollar mistake. In a case that could spell a trend as more baby boomers care for aging parents, an Illinois federal jury awarded $11.65 million to a hospital …

Bush to halt Clinton-era rule opening UI funds for paid leave

01/01/2003

Acting to quiet business’s criticism and protect state unemployment insurance dollars, the U.S. Labor Depart-ment says it plans to repeal a Clinton administration regulation that gives states the option of dipping …

Firing employees on FMLA leave: Occasionally legal, usually unwise

12/01/2002

While he was taking leave for depression under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Jerry Ogborn got the ax. Reason: During the absence, his employer discovered that Ogborn, a union …

You can’t shave employee’s bonus just because she took FMLA leave

12/01/2002

When the company Valerie Dierlam worked for was sold, the acquiring firm offered her a bonus of half her salary if she stayed for one year. She did, but the …

Care for healthy child wins FMLA coverage

11/01/2002

The walls of employee FMLA protection have grown higher with a new court ruling that says a worker must be given leave to look after his healthy children while his wife …

Off-work months during grievance don’t count toward FMLA eligibility