Offering Practical Guidance to Employers
Employee question of the day for HR: “I need time off because I’m donating a kidney.” You’re probably wondering: “How do I respond to this request? Is this incredibly generous employee entitled to protected leave?”
Whether organ donation qualifies for federal Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) leave is typically dependent on whether there is continuing…
Philadelphia has joined a growing list of localities to require employers to provide employees paid COVID-19-related sick leave.
When the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) expired on December 31, 2020, many employees lost guaranteed paid COVID-19-related leave. As of March 29, 2021, employers with employees working in Philadelphia must provide them paid COVID-19-related…
Just hours before the constitutionally-mandated end of Oregon’s state legislative session (June 30 at midnight), the Oregon Senate voted to pass HB 2005—which will provide paid family and medical leave to eligible employees beginning January 1, 2023. HB 2005 now heads to the desk of Governor Kate Brown, who has already said she intends…
Earlier this month, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed Senate Bill 796 into law—after it passed 28-1 in the state Senate, and unanimously in the House—providing protected leave under the Oregon Family Leave Act (“OFLA”) for employees who miss work in connection with donating a body part, organ, or tissue.
The bill expands OFLA’s definition of…
A recent decision from the District Court for the District of Nebraska serves as a reminder that overtime can be an essential job function. See McNeil v. Union Pac. R.R._ 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85250. On May 21, 2018, Union Pacific Railroad Company’s (“Union Pacific”) motion for summary judgment was granted and the Court…
Last week, a court upheld the Minneapolis paid sick leave ordinance, but ruled that it is only enforceable against employers within the city’s limits. Minneapolis’s paid sick leave ordinance was passed in 2016 and was immediately challenged by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, which argued that the Minneapolis ordinance conflicts with state law and cannot…
This week, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued FAQ guidance regarding the employer tax credit for paid family and medical leave. As a reminder, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the Act) provides a tax credit to employers that voluntarily offer paid family and/or medical leave to employees. The FAQs clarify some of…
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…
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…
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…
