In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, the FMLA questions are coming fast and furious: Can an employee take FMLA leave to obtain and recover from an abortion? What if the abortion is elective? And now that abortion will be illegal in at least some states, is travel to another state to

Jeff Nowak
Jeff Nowak is a shareholder at Littler Mendelson P.C., the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management. Jeff represents employers in all areas of labor and employment law, but his passion is the FMLA -- he eats, drinks and sleeps all things FMLA!
Employers: Warn Your Managers to Stop Saying Stupid Stuff in Response to an Employee’s Request for FMLA Leave!
Can an employer violate the FMLA even though it never denies an employee’s request for FMLA leave?
Ask Salvatore Ziccarelli, who we’ll call Sal for short. Sal worked for the Sheriff as a corrections officer in my backyard, Cook County, Illinois.
Over the course of 27 years working for the Sheriff, Sal developed a number…
A Key to FMLA Success: Supporting our Employees as Mental Health Issues Arise
The client calls are a regular part of my everyday, increasingly so during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stress. Anxiety. Depression.
The causes are as numerous as the stars in the sky.
Simply put, a growing number of our employees are dealing with serious mental health issues that render them unable to come to work. It’s our…
What Can Baseball Teach Us about the FMLA?

I love baseball.
I love the sport so much that, in our family, we are taught that America’s favorite pastime was formed in the story of Creation somewhere between the placement of the stars and Adam’s rib.
As a lifelong Chicagoan, I long for…
ABA’s Summary of 2021 FMLA Cases an Outstanding Resource for Employers
If you’re not attending my two-day FMLA master class/party next week (there still is time!), you might find this additional resource helpful for your FMLA efforts.
Every February, the American Bar Association’s Federal Labor Standards Legislation Committee publishes a comprehensive report of FMLA decisions handed down by the federal courts in the previous year. Although…
DOL Announces Ramped-Up FMLA Audits for Employers in Select Industries
They’re baaaaaack!
Earlier this month, the Department of Labor announced that it would ramp up FMLA audits (as well as wage and hour audits generally) on employers, particularly those in the warehouse and logistics industries.
Noting the increased demand and the constraints on the global supply chain “have combined to place enormous strain on the…
Join Me for a Two-Day FMLA Party: An FMLA Master Class!
As I celebrate my third anniversary at Littler, I’d like to invite you to an FMLA party.
Seriously.
A party where we spend seven hours together over two straight days discussing nothing but the F-M-L-A.
Are you excited yet!?! Let me explain more.
FMLA Master Class
For years, many of you have encouraged me…
Should Bucs’ Wide Receive Antonio Brown Been Offered FMLA Leave Instead of Getting Canned?
Hey, thanks for hitting on that clickbait!
Now that you’re here, let me tell you the story of Antonio Brown, soon-to-be former football player for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This past Sunday, Brown engaged in a verbal spat on the sidelines with the Buc’s head coach, Bruce Arians, over whether he should play in the…
Access the Recording of our Webinar: Managing Remote Work Requests During (and After) the Pandemic
Thanks to those who attended my webinar last week with Matt Morris on “Managing Remote Work Requests During (and After) the Pandemic.” You still can access the recording here (a short registration is required), and the presentation PowerPoint slides can be downloaded here (pdf).
To the nearly 6,000 people who registered for the…
Free Webinar: Managing Remote Work Requests During (and After) the Pandemic
Join me for my annual FMLA/ADA webinar, which comes to you, as always, free of charge!
When: Wednesday, December 8, 2021 (12:00 – 1:15 p.m. central time)
Online registration: Click here
Work-from-home requests were on the increase even before the pandemic. After having sent many of their employees home to work during the pandemic,…