Family and Medical Leave Act

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The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that ensures an employee's right to take unpaid leave from work to care for him or herself or an ill family member and to return to his or her job once the leave is over.

The FMLA covers employers with 50 or more employees and requires employees to have worked in most cases for an employer for at least 1,250 hours in the previous 12 months before becoming eligible for leave.

The FMLA imposes notice obligations on employers to inform workers of their rights, and allows employees to take intermittent leave if circumstances warrant. In certain circumstances, employees may elect or employers may require employees to substitute accrued paid vacation leave, personal leave or family leave for unpaid FMLA leave.

The FMLA was enacted in 1993. In 2008 and again in late 2009, Congress amended the FMLA to provide for unpaid leave for employees to care for ill relatives who are in the U.S. armed forces.

Next Steps:

  1. Detailed information on the FMLA can be found in this eBook on SmartHRManager.com.
  2. You may also search for FMLA content in our database.
  3. To get full access to the website, signup for our free trial

See below for a summary of all recent FMLA updates on Smart HR Manager.

 

Judge, Not Jury, Decides Front Pay, 9th Cir. Rules
March 4, 2010

A ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals puts that court in line with at least three other federal appeals courts (the 4th, 5th and 10th circuits) that have ruled judges, rather than juries, should determine not only the availability but the amount of front pay awards.

Caregiver Discrimination Becoming More Costly for Employers, Survey Finds
March 1, 2010

Employers are paying a steep price for discriminating against employees because of their caregiving responsibilities, a new report by the Center for WorkLife Law concludes. The report, Family Responsibilities Discrimination: Litigation Update 2010, is based on an analysis of over 2,100 cases.

7th Cir.: No Evidence of FMLA Retaliation When Employee Fired Over Performance
February 2, 2010

An employee’s claim that she was fired in retaliation for taking intermittent leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was belied by her employer’s warnings well before she started taking leave that she was not meeting performance expectations, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Oct. 23.

6th Cir.: Employee’s Appeal Fails Without FMLA-Qualifying Serious Health Condition
February 1, 2010

After ruling that a district court erred in granting summary judgment to an employer that claimed its employee was not eligible for Family and Medical Leave Act leave (he may have been), and that the employee failed to provide adequate notice of his need for leave (he did), the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals nevertheless upheld the district court’s decision on grounds that the employee did not have an FMLA-qualifying “serious health condition.”

Missed It by That Much: Exact Hours Count for FMLA
February 1, 2010

A federal appeals court ruling that an employee was not eligible for Family and Medical Leave Act leave because her total hours worked in the previous 12 months fell merely 1.2 hours short of the FMLA’s 1,250 hour threshold remains standing after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case.

New FMLA Servicemember Provisions Added
December 10, 2009

In the December 2009 supplement to the Employer's Guide to Preventing Discrimination, learn about new servicemember leave provisions under recent amendments to the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Guide to the Final FMLA Revised Regulations
February 25, 2009

This report discusses the evolution of the final revised rules under the Family and Medical Leave Act, which are effective Jan. 16, 2009, and recommends strategies for employers to maintain compliance with them.

On Again, Off Again: Can you Control Intermittent Leave Under the FMLA?
March 3, 2010

One of the most difficult areas for HR professionals to deal with is intermittent leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Because the nature of the leave and the law, managers often feel handcuffed by employees who sometimes abuse the amount and time granted to them under the law, leaving employers short-handed. Even those who have a good working understanding of FMLA, still struggle with how to manage intermittent leave, while making sure they are keeping fair and accurate records.

Effective Telecommuting-Ensuring Productivity While Balancing Corporate Needs and Avoiding Legal Liability
January 4, 2010

Recently with economic pressure and other threats (like H1N1 flu) pressuring businesses to consolidate or eliminate office space, lots of employers are offering telecommuting as a relatively cost-effective alternative. Aided by gains in technology, telecommuting has been successfully used by many employers in the last several years, and in the most recent economic environment, it has allowed employers to retain and reward top talent while reducing overhead. There are, however, important legal, practical, and organizational issues that, if overlooked, can lead to significant headaches and potentially even legal problems for some employers.

Surviving the Alphabet Jungle: Coordinating FMLA, ADA, Workers' Comp and Other Paid Leaves
August 7, 2009

As the cost of benefits continues to rise and laws such as the FMLA are expanded, employers must find ways of coordinating their benefits programs. One way to achieve substantial savings is to integrate leave policies and programs. The place to start is by understanding the different purposes and requirements of the various leave laws—including the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), state and federal Family and Medical Leave laws (FMLA), workers’ compensation statutes, and short and long-term disability insurance. Then you can begin to reduce costly overlapping and duplication. This task is both taxing and complicated.

 
Learn the strategies you need to identify and avoid potential problems in designing leave programs and in handling employee leave requests in an exclusive interactive audio conference featuring Burt Fishman, recognized as one the nation’s leading authorities on the FMLA and the ADA. Called on by the nation’s business and human resource communities to comment on the new FMLA and ADA, Mr. Fishman has taken a leading role nationally in advising the business community on the impact of the ADA. He is the author of The ADA: Ten Years After, HR Guide to Employee Management; The HR Question and Answer Book; Workplace Privacy; and Workplace Accommodations for Disability and Religion.
 
Benefits of Attending:
·          Overview of the laws affecting employee leave                    
·          How the requirements of the leave laws – ADA, FMLA, and workers’ comp – interact, including what constitutes [missing word] and how to manage paid leave vs. unpaid leave
·          Issues that should be addressed in leave policies
·          Scenarios that will include common problems faced by employers, mistakes they sometimes make, and the corrections to those mistakes
·         
Recognizing and Preventing FMLA Abuse—What You Need to Know
February 17, 2009

According to some estimates, more than 60 percent of employers believe they’ve granted Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) time off that was unfounded. Employers have good reason to be cautious: According to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), in 2006, it collected approximately $1.7 million dollars in monetary damages on behalf of employees. And this statistic does not take into account the numerous employees who have bypassed the DOL and filed lawsuits to obtain monetary relief.

 
In this conference, attendees will learn how to avoid the most common FMLA mistakes that lead to lawsuits as well as how to implement strategies for managing FMLA including work-life support, legal guidance and disability vendor coordination.
 
What you will learn:
·          Who is eligible for protected leave
·          What tools are available under the Act to reduce your costs and risk
·          Strategies for using the medical certification, re-certification and second opinion process set forth in the Act
·          Suggestions for developing your corporate FMLA policy
·          Tips for managing concurrent leave such as disability, vacation, and workers compensation
·          Major differences in state legislation and how this applies to your organization
FMLA and Medical Certification—How To Deal With Complex Situations
February 17, 2009

Before employers can authorize FMLA leave—and later ensure that leave is being used properly—they must obtain a completed medical certification. However, many employers regularly struggle with the details of what constitutes a health care provider’s certification, the mechanics of obtaining such documentation, its content and sometimes even all three. Even employers who are familiar with the requirements of the FMLA may still feel uncertain knowing: what’s required for a valid medical certification, what the limits are on their ability to obtain additional or updated information in the course of leave, when an employee plans to return to work, the details of medical certifications and which ones are valid and which ones are not. On top of that, submissions are sometimes challenged, and subsequent documentation can often be the source of concern in many work settings.
 
By the end of this audio conference, you will be able to identify how the Department of Labor and the courts have viewed the subject of medical certification requirements, and be able to grant or deny leave requests with greater confidence and a reduced fear of litigation. This audio conference features the premier national speaker on this issue, Peter Susser, author of Thompson Publishing Group Inc.’s “Family and Medical Leave Handbook,” and Howard Sandler, M.D.
 
During this audio conference, Mr. Susser and Mr. Sandler address and answer the following questions and more in detail:
 

  • What professionals can provide a health care provider’s certification under the FMLA?
  • How can an employer challenge a medical certification?

·        What can you as an employer do if observed absences diverge from what was forecast in the certification?
·        Under what circumstances can you obtain re-certifications?
·        What about return-to-work certifications?
·        How do FMLA certifications differ from medical exams carried out for ADA or workers' compensation purposes?
 
Order the CD from Thompson Interactive