On January 27, 2017, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision that provides a cautionary tale to employers about seeking documentation from an employee on intermittent FMLA leave. In Diamond v. Hospice of Florida Keys, Inc., Case No. 15-15716 (11th Circuit, Jan. 27, 217), the Court held that an employer’s request
What Am I Doing Wrong?? Common FMLA Mistakes.
“What did I do wrong?” and “Am I doing this correctly?” are frequent questions from clients regarding FMLA administration. This is the sixth in a monthly series highlighting some of the more common mistakes employers can inadvertently make regarding FMLA administration.
Inconsistently applying a return to work fitness-for-duty certification requirement.
When an employee takes FMLA
What Am I Doing Wrong? Common FMLA Mistakes – the California Edition
“What did I do wrong” and “Am I doing this correctly?” are frequent questions from clients regarding FMLA administration. Employers with operations in California need to worry about both the FMLA and the California Family Rights Act (CFRA). This is the next in our monthly series highlighting some of the more common mistakes employers can
Think Before You Call: Contacting Employees On FMLA Leave
How many employers have had this situation arise? An employee requests and receives FMLA leave. While they are out, the employee’s supervisor needs to locate a document, find out the status of a project the employee was working on, or a crucial question comes up that only the employee on leave can answer.
According to
Beware What You Share – Disclosure of Medical Information Results in Retaliation and Interference Claims
A United States District Court in Florida thwarted an employer’s attempt to toss the FMLA claims of an employee who sued after his medical condition was disclosed to co-workers who subsequently made fun of him. The employee requested FMLA leave after he developed a chronic condition with his genito-urinary system. The leave request was approved
Is Federal Paid FMLA Any Closer to Reality?
On Tuesday, February 7, 2017, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) reintroduced the Family And Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, which would create a national system of paid leave for employees. This is the third attempt in the last five years by these same legislators to create federal paid leave. But, with
Weighty Issues: Obesity And The But-For Test Under The ADAAA
Obesity is still a hot topic both in our health conscious culture and in our courtrooms where we continue to see ADAAA claims based on the notion that an employer fired an employee because the employee was obese. After the ADA was amended, there was some question about how the courts would treat obesity under the ADAAA, especially claims alleging that the employer regarded the employee as disabled. Fortunately, most federal courts to have considered the issue have concluded that obesity that is not a caused by an underlying physiological disorder is not a disability under the ADAAA. On February 3, 2017, an Arizona district court joined the Eighth, Sixth, and Second Circuits in holding that obesity (including even morbid obesity) cannot qualify as a disability under the ADAAA unless it falls outside the normal range and occurs as the result of a physiological disorder. In doing so, the Arizona court added its voice to the growing majority view expressly rejecting the EEOC’s contrary position on this issue.
Continue Reading Weighty Issues: Obesity And The But-For Test Under The ADAAA
What Am I Doing Wrong?? Common FMLA Mistakes.
“What did I do wrong?” and “Am I doing this correctly?” are frequent questions from clients regarding FMLA administration. This is the fifth in a monthly series highlighting some of the more common mistakes employers can inadvertently make regarding FMLA administration.
Not providing an employee with a sufficient Notice of Eligibility and
Third Circuit Says “Last Call” for Employee Terminated After Caught Drinking While on FMLA “Bed Rest”
On January 31, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit joined the Seventh, Eighth and Tenth Circuits in holding that an employer’s honest belief that its employee was misusing FMLA leave is enough to defeat an FMLA retaliation claim. The court’s opinion in Capps v. Mondelez Global, LLC also serves as a reminder to employers that an employee’s request for intermittent FMLA leave may also trigger the employer’s obligation to engage in the interactive process with the employee under the ADA.
Continue Reading Third Circuit Says “Last Call” for Employee Terminated After Caught Drinking While on FMLA “Bed Rest”
An Employee Fails to Return from Leave As Originally Scheduled—Has That Employee “Voluntarily Resigned”?
What are employers to do if an employee has not provided a doctor’s note to continue his or her leave and the initial end date for that leave has passed? When can employers deem such an employee to have “voluntarily resigned”? Leticia Bareno v. San Diego Community College District reminds employers that they must scrutinize what communications they have received from such employees about their leaves and their own attempts at follow-up before considering an employee to be, “voluntarily resigned.”