Erratic, unpredictable absences such as allowing an employee to come in and leave at any time is not a reasonable accommodation as per the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Are Employers Required to Use the FMLA Forms from the Department Of Labor?
Employer’s failure to provide proper FMLA notices to the employees will be ruled by courts as interference with employee’s rights. So many cases have resulted in employers paying $275,000 or more for failure to comply. Notification is a vital component of FMLA leave.
Temporary to Regular Employees and FMLA
Here is a typical question about FMLA that I will receive from my clients: “I have an employee who started in our company about a year ago as a temporary employee from ABC Staffing Company. Two months ago, the employee was hired by our company as a regular full-time employee. The employee now needs surgery and is requesting FMLA. We denied the employee’s FMLA request since he has not met the eligibility requirements. The employee only has two months of service since we hired him. Do we need to worry about any problems? We are correct, right?”
2020 Final Rule on Overtime Eligibility for White Collar Employees
2020 Final Rule on Overtime Eligibility for White Collar Employees – The effective date of this final rule is January 1, 2020. The final rule updates the earnings thresholds necessary to exempt executive, administrative and professional employees from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) minimum wage and overtime pay requirements, and allows employers to count a portion of certain bonuses/commissions towards meeting the salary level. The new thresholds account for growth in employee earnings since the thresholds were last updated in 2004.
Common Sense IS NOT Very Common!
Would you fire a woman that was 5 months pregnant only because she was pregnant? Would you terminate older workers and replace them with younger ones because it is time for them to “rest”? Well, some companies are making these kinds of decisions and think it is OK! Employment discrimination lawsuits continue to climb and […]
Wait a Minute! Why Am I Getting Paid Less Than My Male Coworkers?
It has been 56 long years trying to close the wage gap! Too long with too little success… The Equal Pay Act was signed in 1963, making it illegal for employers to pay unequal wages to men and women who hold the same job and do the same work. At the time of the EPA’s […]
FMLA Interference or Simply Confused?
Who wants a Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) interference lawsuit? Not me! Interference and retaliation are the two words you don’t want to hear in regards to FMLA. In addition to the employer being liable, HR, managers and supervisors can also have personal liability. If you would like to learn more about FMLA and ADA […]
Father Wants “Baby Bonding”, What Form is Required?
The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of FMLA leave in a 12 month period for the care of and bonding with a newborn, adopted or foster child up to one year after birth or placement. I call this FMLA leave “Baby Bonding with a healthy newborn”; […]
FMLA or no FMLA if Less than 50 Employees? That is the Question!
FMLA or not FMLA if Less than 50 Employees? That is the Question! The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for a specified family and medical reasons.
FMLA Eligibility and Telecommuters
Telecommuting is becoming a popular work arrangement in which the employee works outside the office, often from home. Just as popular as telecommuting is becoming, so is the question “Are employees working from home eligible for FMLA“? A lot of people believe that if there is not at least 50 employees within a 75 miles […]
FMLA and Spouses Working for the Same Employer
Most HR professionals are aware of at least one situation where FMLA limits the combined amount of FMLA leave, eligible FMLA spouses working for the same employer can take in a 12 month period. But do you know there are are two more situations? Let’s start by reviewing the eligibility requirement for an employee to […]
Baby Bonding and FMLA
We like to call it “Baby bonding” but the Family Leave Act refers to it as “Leave to bond with a newborn child or a child placed for adoption or foster care”. By now, you probably figured out that I have love to talk and write about the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Americans […]