One of the many difficult issues employers face under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is determining what information a disabled employee must provide to an employer to trigger the employer’s duty to accommodate a disability. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit addressed that question for the first time in Owens v.
New DOL Opinion Letter – No Delaying Designating FMLA Leave, Even When A Collective Bargaining Agreement Provides Otherwise
On September 10, 2019, the Department of Labor issued an FMLA opinion letter stating that an employer may not delay designating paid leave as FMLA leave if the delay complies with a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and the employee prefers that the designation be delayed.
The CBAs in question provided employees with job protected paid
What’s New in 2019? A Look at the Ever-Changing Leave and Accommodation Law Landscape
2019 has brought a flurry of new leave and accommodation laws. In fact, in the first 8 months of 2019, more than 20 new laws in this area have passed.
The states (and US territory) that passed new laws, expanded or otherwise amended existing leave and accommodation laws, or had new laws go into effect
Bonuses, Pay Increases and FMLA Reinstatement
An employee returning from FMLA leave is generally entitled to reinstatement to the same position they held prior to the leave or to a virtually identical position.
A common area of confusion is how handle pay increases or other bonuses when an employee returns from FMLA leave.
An employee returning from FMLA leave is entitled
The ADA, Occupational Injuries and Light Duty
It is not uncommon for employees who are on leave and receiving workers’ compensation benefits to be released to return to work with light duty restrictions. To account for these situations, some employers have designated light duty positions reserved for employees who are released to return to work on light duty after an occupational injury.
The FMLA, ADA and Overseas Employees
In the global economy, it is not unusual for U.S. multinational companies to have employees working overseas. Overseas employment arrangements require employers to navigate a variety of complex legal issues – some of them leave related. For example, what happens if an overseas employee has a medical condition that causes them to miss work?
The
How the Government Shutdown Impacts Employee Leave Requests
As of midnight December 21, 2018, 380,000 federal employees were placed on furlough. An additional 420,000 are considered “excepted” and have continued working without pay. Federal employers and employees should be aware of how the government shutdown impacts both paid time off requests as well as approved FMLA leaves.
According to the Office of Personnel
‘Tis the Season: FMLA and Holidays
As we are in the heart of the holiday season, to avoid an unwanted gift from the Department of Labor, employers should ensure that they properly administer FMLA leaves taken during company holidays.
Determining whether company holidays count towards an employee’s FMLA entitlement depends on whether the employee takes leave for an entire week or
What Do You Mean I Can’t Require that an Employee Use PTO During FMLA Leave?
Since the FMLA came into existence, employers have been advised, where possible, to run FMLA concurrently with other leaves. Doing so prevents leave stacking. When reviewing FMLA policies, a common oversight we see is how employers handle the use of paid leave during FMLA. While the policies require employees to use earned vacation, sick or
Department of Labor Issues Updated FMLA Forms
On September 4, 2018, the Department of Labor issued new FMLA notices and certification forms. But don’t panic, the change was procedural in nature; no substantive changes were made to the forms.
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the DOL is required to submit its forms for approval to the Federal Office of Management