Earlier this year, the Department of Labor made clear in an opinion letter that neither an employee nor an employer may decline FMLA leave where an eligible employee is absent for an FMLA-qualifying reason. As the DOL noted in this March 2019 opinion letter, this is particularly true even where the employee would prefer that
DOL Declares That Parent Attendance at School IEP Meetings Are Covered by the FMLA
If I gave you a million tries, you’d never guess that the next Department of Labor FMLA opinion letter would answer the question [wait for it . . .]: Is an employee’s attendance at a child’s IEP meeting covered by the FMLA?
The Answer? Yes. Most definitely, yes.
In an opinion
Employees Busted Taking FMLA Leave for a Caribbean “Booze” Cruise, Yet Another Reminder Leave Abuse is Alive and Well
It’s a Friday in the middle of summer. So, approximately half of your workforce called off today due to an FMLA-related absence. [Well, not really, but I’m not that far off, amirite?]
Take heart. At least you’re not the City of Chicago.
As reported this week by the City’s Inspector General, three
This One’s a Whopper! Court Puts Kibosh on Burger King Franchisee That Required Two Calls to Request FMLA Leave
Remember when I told you a few months ago that employers can and should consider requiring that employees make two calls to request FMLA leave? For instance, you might require one call to the supervisor to report the absence, and a second call to Human Resources (or your third party administrator) to request FMLA
Something is Afoot at the DOL: Could New FMLA Regulations or Forms Be on the Horizon?
It’s been just over 10 years since the Department of Labor last introduced wholesale changes to the FMLA regulations.
Remember those happy days back in 2009, when we were introduced to new FMLA notice requirements (for all), clarity over employee eligibility and holidays, emphasis on call-in procedures, favorable bonus language and waivers of FMLA rights?
How Does an Employer Respond to an Employee with a Terminal Illness and Who Doesn’t Have Long to Live?
Andy, the Director of Human Resources at one of my clients, called me last week. He was pretty distraught.
One of his employees, we’ll call him Tom, has been battling lung cancer, and he recently learned that the cancer has advanced to stage four. It’s clear that his days are numbered.
Tom has been a
Can an Employee Decline FMLA Leave Even though the Absence is Covered by the FMLA? According to the DOL, the Answer is an Emphatic “NO.”
Every one of you employs at least one of these employees — you know, the one who:
- requests medical leave because of, let’s say, his uromysitisis poisoning (clearly, an FMLA-qualifying condition); but
- wants to use his accrued paid leave instead of tapping into FMLA?
He might even get indignant, insisting that the law allows him
This is the Day I Look Forward to Every Year: Arrival of the ABA’s Summary of 2018 FMLA Court Decisions
I can’t imagine anything more exciting than having joined Littler earlier this year. [Click here to read about that virtual love fest.]
But I have found a close second: the arrival of the American Bar Association’s summary of every FMLA case decided in 2018!
Yep, you read that correctly. Every little scrumptious FMLA
I’m Taking my So-Called FMLA Talents to Littler!
I am bursting at my FMLA seams, and I’ve been dying to share the news with my blog readers.
A few weeks ago, six colleagues and I decided to leave our Chicago-based boutique firm and venture toward the labor and employment powerhouse: Littler Mendelson P.C. Littler is the world’s largest employment practice representing employers, and
Creating Practical FMLA and ADA Training for Your Managers: Recap of our Webinar
Thanks to those who attended my webinar last week with Matt Morris on “Six Ways Your Managers Are Causing FMLA & ADA Leave Lawsuits, and How to Train Them to Stop.” A link to the recording can be accessed here (just requires providing some basic info about you) and the presentation PowerPoint can