Dear fellow FMLA nerds:
Please indulge me for one shameless self-promotion for the year. Last year, for the third consecutive year, our little FMLA blog was named to the ABA Journal’s 100 best legal blogs of 2013. Voting is now open for the best legal blogs of 2014, and we would love to
Earlier this week, the EEOC issued new enforcement guidance on pregnancy discrimination, warning employers of their obligation to provide pregnant employees reasonable accommodations in the workplace and giving employers insight into how the EEOC will enforce pregnancy-related issues under Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) in the future.
As expected, the guidance confirms that the EEOC
Grandparents across America are celebrating this week. And they have Suzan Gienapp to thank. Here’s why:
The Facts
Suzan, who worked for Harbor Crest (a nursing home), informed her manager in January 2011 that she needed time off to care for her daughter, who was undergoing treatment for thyroid cancer. Harbor Crest granted her FMLA
If you’re anything like me, you’ve been swept up in the excitement of the World Cup over the past couple of weeks. However, now that we have entered the Round of 16, one thing leaves me both fascinated and unsettled about the game: how the art of penalty kicks can decide which team advances and
The Department of Labor announced today a proposed rule that would allow an employee to take FMLA leave to care for a same-sex spouse, regardless of whether the employee lives in a state that recognizes their marital status. As expected, the DOL has adopted a “state of celebration” rule, in which a spousal status for
Ena Wages served as a property manager for one of several apartment complexes owned by Stuart Management Corp. She began her employment on November 17, 2008, and this is significant under the FMLA because nearly one year later, on November 13, 2009, Ena’s physician restricted the number hours she could work as a result of
When it comes to leave as a reasonable accommodation after FMLA leave is exhausted, employers have been conditioned to simply believe: inflexible leave policies bad, flexible leave policies good. In fact, many of us have become so good at this conditioning it would make Ivan Pavlov proud [you know, the guy who conditioned
There must be something in the water, but several clients have asked me this week whether they are required to pay an employee for the Memorial Day holiday even though the employee was out on FMLA leave. Interesting question, and the answer is fairly straightforward: treat them the same way you would treat another employee
Over the past few weeks, I have had the pleasure of presenting on complex FMLA issues for attorneys and HR professionals attending several seminars sponsored by the National Employment Law Institute (NELI), which puts on some of the best employment law seminars in the country (my session, of course, being a drag on their success!).
Here’s a shout out to all you employers out there who forget to send your employees the proper FMLA notices when they seek leave for a reason covered by the FMLA. Occasionally, the courts have your back, despite your lack of attention to detail.
As I have discussed before, when an employer is put