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FMLA

Leave policy goes above and beyond FMLA? Make sure court sees your generosity

08/03/2012
If, like many employers, you offer employees more than the required 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave in any given year, you may have a powerful response to a disability or FMLA discrimination lawsuit.

New guidebook helps you explain FMLA to employees

08/02/2012
The U.S. Department of Labor last month released the Employee’s Guide to the FMLA, a 16-page booklet describing employee rights and duties under the law.

Clarify internal rules for handling FMLA requests

07/31/2012
Make sure that whoever in your organization handles FMLA and other leave knows to contact HR as soon as a leave request comes in. Then make sure you send out the appropriate FMLA paperwork along with any other required documents.

OK to lay off worker who took FMLA leave as long as that’s not a factor in the decision

07/31/2012
Once an employee has used up FMLA and other leave, requiring employees to show up and get their work done is a reasonable expectation. In the following case, the court reasoned that the employer could consider attendance when deciding personnel cuts, as long as it didn’t use FMLA leave as a factor.

When woman returns from maternity leave, must she return to her exact former job?

07/27/2012
Q. When an employee returns from maternity leave, do we have to give her the very same job she had or can she be put to work in a different type of position?

Separate who approves FMLA, who disciplines

07/27/2012
Make sure someone other than the supervisor who ordinarily disciplines an employee is responsible for approving and administering FMLA leave. By separating those functions, you minimize the risk that an employee might be able to connect FMLA leave with an adverse action such as termination.

Get tough on vague, incomplete FMLA forms

07/26/2012

Here’s good news for employers trying to manage FMLA leave and prevent abuse: If an employee’s FMLA certification form is incomplete or vague, you don’t have to accept it … you can deny FMLA leave to that person. Just make sure you give the employee at least seven calendar days to correct deficiencies on the form.

Use 4 strategies to certify and control intermittent leave

07/24/2012
Managing FMLA intermittent leave can be vexing, but employers do have some tools to combat leave abuse. One of the most important is FMLA certification. Here are four tips on certifying FMLA intermittent leave requests:

Employee fudges appointments, claiming FMLA? Count that as an unexcused absence

07/18/2012
Some employees abuse their rights under the FMLA and try to take time off to which they aren’t entitled. Take, for example, an employee who takes an unscheduled trip to his doctor’s office and claims that time as FMLA leave. It isn’t.

Fire away if worker abuses intermittent leave

07/18/2012
If you suspect intermittent FMLA leave abuse, take action. You can check up on the employee or ask her what she is doing on the days she designates as intermittent leave. If she’s not using the time as required, you can discipline her.