As employers struggle with managing how much, if any, leave is required as an accommodation under the ADA, we are beginning to get more direction from the Courts to guide those decisions. In Easter v. Arkansas Children’s Hospital (E.D. Ark. Oct. 3, 2018) an employee was unable to work after exhausting her FMLA leave but
Michigan Passes Paid Sick Leave Law
On September 5, 2018, Michigan became the 11th state to enact a mandatory paid sick leave law — the Earned Sick Time Act. The act was a citizen petition-initiated measure that the state legislature approved. Under the act, employees accrue a minimum of one hour of earned sick time for every 30 hours worked.
Are You Interfering With FMLA Rights If You Offer The Option to Work During Leave?
Employees who take leave to care for a family member often have the ability to continue working during their leave if the caretaking obligations do not consume all of their time. If the employee asks to work limited hours while taking time off to care for a family member that is generally treated as a
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
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 twelfth in a series highlighting some of the more common mistakes employers can inadvertently make regarding FMLA administration.
Not adequately investigating a potential FMLA abuse situation to put the
New California Disability and Leave Laws – Are You Ready for 2018?
With the turn of the year comes a wave of new California disability and leave laws. Employers should review their existing policies and procedures to determine if they will be in compliance with these new laws—many of which will go into effect on January 1:
- Parental Leave: California will expand parental leave to small
Extending Leave Was Not A Reasonable Accommodation Under The ADA Where There Was A Lack Of “Certainty” About Return To Work Date
While employers generally accept that they cannot apply a maximum leave period after which employees are automatically terminated, they continue to struggle with how much leave must be provided as a form of accommodation under the ADA. There is little dispute that leave for an indefinite period where the employee has a long term chronic
Is Crying at Work Sufficient Notice of an FMLA Covered Condition?
It is well established that an employee need not specifically request leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) in order to benefit from the Act’s protections. Rather, the law requires the employer to take action to notify an employee of FMLA rights when the employer acquires knowledge that an employee’s leave may be
What Should I Tell Employees on Leave About Their FMLA Usage? Everything!
When it comes to FMLA leave administration, “don’t sweat the details” is rarely a wise axiom. Details matter. A lot.
A recent decision by an Illinois federal court reinforces that lesson. In March 2015, Amanda Dusik contacted her employer, Lutheran Child and Family Services (LCFS), to request time off for knee surgery. She explained that,
Congress Proposes Adding Parental Bereavement Leave to FMLA
On March 16th, a bipartisan group of Representatives, which included Paul Gosar, Don Beyer, Martha McSally, Brad Schneider, Tom Suozzi and Barbara Comstock, introduced the Parental Bereavement Act of 2017, also known as the Sarah Grace-Farley-Kluger Act. See H.R. 1560. This Act would add the “death of a child” as a covered