By the end of this year, employers with employees in the state of Washington must be ready to comply with last summer’s newly-enacted a paid family and medical leave law. Since the law’s passage, Washington has been busy fine-tuning the program and providing updates. Recently, Washington announced that employers with employees in the state
New Jersey Legislature Passes Paid Sick Leave Bill
On April 12, 2018, the New Jersey State Senate, by a vote of 24-12, passed the New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Act (the “Act”). The Act, which passed the Assembly last month by a 50-24 margin, requires businesses of all sizes to provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave to employees during an
Must an Employer Pay for Frequent FMLA Breaks?
Is it compensable time when an employee takes frequent, 15-minute breaks each hour due to the employee’s serious health condition? Today, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) answered this question in a hot-off-the-press opinion letter, verifying that FMLA-covered breaks are not compensable.
In today’s opinion letter, the DOL confirmed that frequent, 15-minute breaks
Supreme Court Declines Review of ADA Leave Obligations
Sometimes the actions a court doesn’t take can have a very big impact. The Supreme Court’s April 2, 2018 decision not to review a recent Seventh Circuit ruling is just one of the cases.
In Severson v. Heartland Woodcraft, Inc., a widely-publicized decision relating to the availability of extended leave as a reasonable accommodation
Donations Not Accepted – ADA Does Not Require Continued Use of Leave Donation Program
Many employers have programs allowing employees to donate their own time off to another employee with serious medical or family issues. A dilemma often faced by employers with these policies is whether continued use of such donated time means the employee is not performing the essential function of attendance. On the one hand, the employee
Louisiana Court of Appeals Highlights the Need For Clear Vacation Policies
The Louisiana Court of Appeals—Fourth Circuit, recently overturned a trial court’s determination that an employee of a pest control company was not entitled to the payout of his accrued, but unused, vacation leave. Contrary to the findings of the trial court, the Court found that the terms of the policy were ambiguous and therefore, the
Are you covered by the Federal Paid Sick Leave Law for Federal Contractors?
As paid sick leave laws continue to pass across the nation, as recently seen in Austin, Texas, employers have focused on complying with the various state and local jurisdictions’ paid sick leave requirements . However, employers may forget, or might have to totally missed, that there is a federal paid sick leave law. Executive
Continued Focus on Disability, Leave Management Issues in 2018
With the New Year fading from view in the rearview mirror and spring on the horizon (at least for those of us in the Midwest), there are several signs that disability and leave management issues will continue to be hot topics in 2018.
First, a review of the EEOC’s press releases from the first two
Could Your Parental Leave Policy Be Considered Sex Discrimination?
With the increase in the number of states that require various types of paid leave, now is a good time to examine your leave policies. While often overlooked, one policy that could expose an employer to liability is its maternity leave or parental leave policy.
As the EEOC’s Guidance on Pregnancy Discrimination and Related Issues
New York Paid Family Leave – One Month Check Up
The New York Paid Family Leave (NY PFL) law has been in effect for over a month, yet reports indicate that many New York employers are not prepared for the operation requirements of the law. The basics of the law shouldn’t be news to employers with employees in New York. The NY PFL law provides