FMLA

New pregnancy regulations to hit small employers hard

09/15/2023

If you have fewer than 50 workers, you haven’t had to worry about providing job-protected FMLA leave for pregnant employees or new parents. However, a new federal law—the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act—has changed all that for small employers with 15 or more employees. If you meet that threshold, the PWFA now requires you to accommodate many pregnancy-related conditions, complications and limitations.

When it’s OK to pile on work following FMLA leave

09/08/2023

When employees take FMLA leave, they have the right to return to the same or an equivalent position. “Equivalent” means the job has the same pay, benefits and working conditions as before. But jobs often evolve, even when the jobholder is off on FMLA leave. And sometimes, that means an employee will return to a job that’s somewhat different.

Case of the Week: Revoking remote work privilege isn’t basis for lawsuit

06/09/2023

Employees who sue their employers for retaliation must prove that they experienced an adverse employment action. Being fired, demoted or transferred to a different location with lower pay generally qualify as adverse. But minor changes that don’t include lower pay, lost benefits or substantially different duties and responsibilities aren’t enough to justify a lawsuit.

Download brand-new FMLA poster

05/15/2023

The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has released a new poster informing employees of their FMLA rights. The new poster replaces a version last updated in 2016.

What HR needs to know about 2 new laws affecting pregnant workers and new mothers

05/01/2023

What you need to know about the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and the PUMP Act.

Feel free to contact worker who’s on sick leave

04/03/2023

Employers should make it a point not to pester employees who are out on sick leave or ask them to perform work during their time off. However, that general principle doesn’t mean employers are absolutely forbidden to seek basic information from employees who are out sick.

How to handle long COVID under ADA, FMLA

02/23/2023

A new study from New York’s largest workers’ comp carrier says long COVID contributes significantly to current labor shortages and harms productivity.

No retaliation ever for invoking FMLA rights—even if employee may be ineligible

02/16/2023

The 6th Circuit revived the FMLA retaliation claim of an attorney fired immediately after she requested unpaid leave to care for her two-year-old child at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alcoholism: Be prepared to accommodate it under both the ADA and the FMLA

02/16/2023

Responding to the latest federal Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey, more than half of U.S. adults reported drinking alcohol in the previous 30 days. One study placed the overall cost of alcohol abuse at more than $249 billion per year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says employers bear 72% of that cost because of lost productivity.

DOL: Fresh guidance on remote worker rights, FMLA vs. ADA

02/10/2023

The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division on Feb. 9 issued two new guidance documents affecting employers with remote workers and FMLA-eligible employees who must work reduced schedules to manage their serious health conditions.