FMLA

Court rules on early FMLA protection: Never fire for requesting leave in advance

02/13/2012

The 11th Circuit has ruled for the first time on an important FMLA question, providing greater protection for employees who are not yet eligible for FMLA leave but who request leave that will start once they become eligible.

Don’t take malingering employee’s bait: Calling in sick shouldn’t trigger FMLA query

02/13/2012

Some employees believe all they have to do to invoke FMLA leave protection is call in sick and wait for their employer to request medical certification. Wrong! Merely calling in sick doesn’t trigger any employer obligations under the FMLA.

Does FMLA cover prenatal appointments?

02/09/2012

Q. One of our employees is expecting a baby and would like to count the time she spends at pregnancy-related doctor’s appointments as FMLA leave. Are we obligated to allow intermittent leave for doctor’s appointments?

HR’s loose lips can sink your company’s defense

02/07/2012

Sometimes in HR, you know more than you want to know. But as this new court ruling shows, sharing inside information with an employee isn’t a smart move … for your employer or your career.

You can terminate someone on FMLA leave–as long as reason has nothing to do with FMLA

02/03/2012

Some employees mistakenly believe that if they take FMLA leave, they can’t be terminated. That’s not true. The FMLA regulations even allow employers to fire employees on FMLA leave before they return—if they can show the termination was unrelated to leave.

Subpar employee fired for good reason? He can still sue for FMLA retaliation

02/03/2012

Many employers don’t realize that they can still be sued for FMLA retaliation by a terrible employee that they fired for perfectly legitimate business reasons if there’s a possibility he was punished for requesting or taking FMLA leave.

New FMLA status: pet-abuse protection

02/02/2012

Florida’s version of the FMLA allows workers to take up to three days of leave if the employee or a family member is the victim of domestic violence. Now a state senator, Mike Fasano, has proposed an amendment that would extend that protection to pet abuse.

DOL: It’s time to formalize FMLA military family leave

01/31/2012

The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed new FMLA rules that would formalize several statutory amendments that expanded military family-leave rights in 2008 and 2009. The new rules would officially incorporate into the FMLA amendments that were tacked onto the National Defense Authorization Act. If you’re covered by the FMLA, these rules will apply to you.

Beware job alterations after FMLA leave

01/31/2012

Employees who take FMLA leave are entitled to their old jobs or an equivalent one when they return. Offering a less prestigious position or one with different hours is asking for trouble.

Never automatically fire employees just because they exhaust FMLA leave

01/25/2012

Many employers wrongly assume that they can automatically terminate an employee once she used up her 12-week entitlement of FMLA leave. Such a policy could spell trouble.