FMLA Insights

Two Medical Conditions Can Equal One FMLA Serious Health Condition

jsn@franczek.com (Jeff Nowak) — Tue, 22 May 2012 08:09:01 -0600

Posted by Jeff Nowak

Employers beware: Just when an employee gives you the left jab, look for the right hook. The combination of the two, as far as the Family and Medical Leave Act is concerned, can knock employers out. As reported by my colleague, Scott Cruz, last week, an employee may be able to add up two medical conditions -- neither of which would alone constitute a serious health condition under the FMLA -- to take FMLA leave. Facts Consider these facts, as reported by Scott: Angela Fries worked for a marketing company as a telemarketer and suffered from genital herpes and interstitial cystitis (I Read More...

Requiring Employees to Return to Work With No Restrictions or To Be "100% Healed" is a Huge Risk for Employers

jsn@franczek.com (Jeff Nowak) — Thu, 10 May 2012 00:20:00 -0600

Posted by Jeff Nowak

There must be something in the water. Over the past few months alone, I have reviewed a number of employers' policies and correspondence regarding an employee's return to work from a leave of absence. What has been surprising to me is the number of employer policies that require an employee to return from leave with "no restrictions" or "100% healed." Consider the following requirement, which was embedded in an employer's return to work notice at the conclusion of FMLA leave: As your FMLA leave is nearly exhausted, we expect you to return to work on April 2, 2012 with a note Read More...

DOL Extends Comment Period for Proposed FMLA Regulations to April 30, 2012

jsn@franczek.com (Jeff Nowak) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:06:48 -0600

Posted by Jeff Nowak

On February 15, the Department of Labor published proposed regulations to the Family and Medical Leave Act in three specific areas: 1) Military Family Leave; 2) Flight Crew FMLA Eligibility; and 3) the manner in which employers calculate increments of FMLA leave. We summarized those changes here. Public comments originally were due by April 16, 2012. However, last week, the DOL announced that it is extending the due date for comments to April 30. We strongly encourage you to make your voice heard about these proposed regulations. Read More...

FMLA FAQ: Can an Employer Require an Employee to Make Up Time Taken as FMLA Leave?

jsn@franczek.com (Jeff Nowak) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 07:57:38 -0600

Posted by Jeff Nowak

Q: We have an employee who works four days per week. He regularly calls off work one day every other week due to his chronic bad back. Can we require that he "make up" his day off later in the workweek? A: The FMLA regulations do not give us any clear guidance as to whether an employer can maintain a policy that requires or even encourages employees to "make up" FMLA leave. However, the regulations (and several court decisions) make two general principles very clear: 1) employers cannot engage in conduct that discourages or otherwise "chills" an employee from requesting or taking FMLA Read More...

U.S. Supreme Court Rules That State Employees Cannot Sue under "Self-Care" Provisions of the FMLA

jsn@franczek.com (Jeff Nowak) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 06:48:24 -0600

Posted by Jeff Nowak

That pesky State of Maryland! (Not that I hold grudges all these years after your Maryland Terapins beat my Indiana Hoosiers for the 2002 NCAA basketball championship!) With a little assistance from the U.S. Supreme Court, the State of Maryland avoided potential FMLA liability yesterday in Coleman v. State of Maryland Court of Appeals when the Supremes held that the Family and Medical Leave Act does not allow lawsuits against states by their employees when the suit deals with the "self-care" provisions of the FMLA. Consequently, Maryland's victory is a win for all states and their subdivisions. The Facts Plaintiff Daniel Coleman Read More...

Illinois Civil Union Partners Soon May Enjoy Greater Leave Rights Than Married Couples Under a Newly Proposed Illinois Family Medical Leave Act

jsn@franczek.com (Jeff Nowak) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 00:05:00 -0600

Posted by Jeff Nowak

Illinois currently has no equivalent of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. Soon, it may. And unlike the FMLA, the proposed Illinois leave law would allow civil union partners the same leave entitlements currently enjoyed by married couples. Notably, because of the conflicting parameters of state and federal law, the proposed Illinois Family and Medical Leave Act, which recently hit the floor of Illinois House of Representatives, actually would afford civil union partners greater leave benefit rights than married couples. Let me explain. The Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act, which became law on June 1, 2011, provides that partners in a civil Read More...

FMLA FAQ: Does an Employer Violate the FMLA When an Employee Answers E-Mail or Telephone Calls While on Leave?

jsn@franczek.com (Jeff Nowak) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 00:20:00 -0600

Posted by Jeff Nowak

Q: An employee who recently returned from FMLA leave claims that a portion of his leave of absence should not count against his FMLA entitlement because he responded to a number of work-related e-mails and telephone calls while he was out. Can we still count this time as FMLA leave? A: I have fielded this question from several employers lately, so I figured I would tackle it head on. In this situation, what an employer is worried about is FMLA "interference" -- the idea that the employer is denying the employee FMLA benefits to which he otherwise was entitled. In a nutshell, Read More...

Want Some Insight into the EEOC's priorities in the Area of ADA and Leaves of Absence? Follow EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum on Twitter

jsn@franczek.com (Jeff Nowak) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 07:27:45 -0600

Posted by Jeff Nowak

With the growth of blogs and other social networking like Linkedin and Twitter, news comes at us fast and furious these days. In a recent blog post, LexBlog CEO and legal marketing guru Kevin O'Keefe cited a recent survey finding that 55 percent of people hear about breaking news on Facebook and 20 percent on Twitter. Clearly, sites like Twitter and Linkedin are revolutionizing the manner in which we find our news and cultivate relationships with prospective clients and influencers. Over the past couple of months, however, I have found something fascinating: I can tune into these various media to find out what's most important Read More...

Summary of 2011 FMLA Cases: Valuable Resource to Employers

jsn@franczek.com (Jeff Nowak) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:20:00 -0600

Posted by Jeff Nowak

Each year, the American Bar Association's Federal Labor Standards Legislation Committee publishes a comprehensive report of significant FMLA decisions handed down by the federal courts in the previous year. 2011 proved to be an active year for cases involving the Family and Medical leave Act, and this year's report captures nearly all of them. It is a great reference for me throughout the year, and I highly recommend it to HR professionals and employment attorneys. The report can be accessed here (pdf). Although my FR colleagues and I contributed to the publication, Jim Paul and Bill Bush, who head up the ABA's FMLA subcommittee, are Read More...

Stephen Colbert Takes FMLA Leave to Care for Mom; Will His "Key Employee" Status under the FMLA Deny His Return to "The Colbert Report"?

jsn@franczek.com (Jeff Nowak) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 12:48:48 -0600

Posted by Jeff Nowak

According to Forbes and other news sources, Stephen Colbert has taken a leave of absence from his late-night comedy show, "The Colbert Report," to attend to his ailing 91 year-old mother. Only a true FMLA nerd would use this as an opportunity to explain a little-used, often forgotten rule under the Family and Medical Leave Act -- the "key employee" provision -- that actually could deny Colbert's reinstatement to his wildly popular comedy show. The FMLA allows employers to utilize this "key employee" provision to deny reinstatement to an employee who is among the highest paid in the workplace and Read More...