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FMLA

Multiple locations? Handle FMLA with care

09/16/2013
Employers with 50 or more employees within 75 miles must provide FMLA leave. If they have multiple locations, they must often provide leave to some em­­ployees but not others. If that’s your situation, beware making blanket handbook statements about FMLA leave eligibility.

Returning from FMLA: Employee Right to Reinstatement

09/09/2013

The FMLA allows certain employees to take up to 12 weeks of leave from work each year. Employees who take FMLA leave are entitled to return to their former jobs, or at least an “equivalent” job in terms of pay, responsiblities and the like. What’s an equivalent postion? Here’s what the U.S. Department of Labor says about employees’ rights to reinstatement after FMLA leave …

Steps you should take to derail the FMLA leave abuse train

09/09/2013
Employers face several common struggles when employees take FMLA leave, but there are ways to combat FMLA abuse in the workplace.

Know the right way to request FMLA certification, fitness-for-duty notices

09/06/2013
When employees have a serious health condition that qualifies them for FMLA leave, employers have the right to some basic information. But you have to ask for it in the right way and at the right time.

FMLA expired and we haven’t heard from worker: Can we legally terminate?

09/03/2013
Q. One of our employees was injured on the job and has been on leave for almost six months now. Her eligibility for FMLA leave expired a couple of months ago and we haven’t received a response to the notice we sent her stating that her time off under worker’s compensation counts against any leave she may be entitled to. Can she legally be terminated and replaced?

Good news for supervisors, HR pros: No personal liability under Title VII

08/28/2013
While some federal and state laws allow employees to personally sue their super­visors or an HR professional, that’s not the case for Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Only employers can be liable for discrimination covered by that section.

Balance the pluses and minuses of switching to PTO banks

08/26/2013
Some employers have retooled the traditional method of setting paid time off in separate categories by folding vacation, personal or sick leave entitlements into one “bank.”  So-called paid time off (PTO) programs offer benefits for employers and employees alike, but there are some potential pitfalls if you are not careful.

Must we grant time off for employee to care for a grandparent?

08/20/2013
Q. Our company has 30 full-time employees. One of our employees who is working on a key project has asked us for time off to take care of her grandfather, who has cancer, on days after he’s gone through chemotherapy. We know other family members are available to provide this care, and we are worried that it will be a hardship to have the employee away from work. Do we have to give the employee the time off?

Can we fire admitted drug user, or should we offer time off for treatment?

08/20/2013
Q. We have an employee who has been performing poorly and who has shown up for work appearing to be intoxicated. In a discussion with a manager, the employee admitted that he was currently using cocaine and it was affecting his personal and work life. We haven’t done a drug test on the employee, given his admission of drug use. We want to fire the employee, but we aren’t sure if the FMLA or any other law requires us to give him time off to undergo treatment?

Not all FMLA mistakes will cost you in court

08/20/2013
What if your mistaken belief that an employee has a serious health condition prompts you to grant FMLA leave? Does she have any legal basis to sue? Probably not.