Let’s put our heads together on this one. You see, it appears as though far too many employees have bought into the notion that their employer is always responsible for the cost of obtaining medical certification to support an FMLA-related absence. Case in point: just last week, a client called me for help after one
FMLA FAQ: Can General Aches and Pains Support the Need for FMLA Leave?
I just returned from Disney World, a trip that had me chasing my kids (ages 8, 6 and 4) for days on end. So, I’m tired. And I ache. My feet ache. My back aches from my four year old riding on my shoulders. My head aches from thinking about my back. Even my aches
FMLA FAQ: Can Excess Trips to the Potty Be Counted as FMLA Leave?
Q: One of our employees drinks a lot of water at work and goes to the bathroom continuously throughout the day. As a result, she uses far more than her normal breaks allow. She has provided documentation that a severe medical condition in her kidneys causes this predicament. Do we have to allow this? And
A Triple Dog Dare: Take These Five Steps in 2014 to Drastically Improve Your FMLA Compliance
It’s 2014. And I’m so cold, I can barely peck at the keyboard to type this post. Nevertheless, it’s time to get back to work in the New Year, which always is an ideal time to review and button up your FMLA practices. Let’s face it: before we know it, six months will have passed
Happy Festivus…uh, I mean, Happy Holidays…and a Happy New Leave Year!
Many years ago, on December 23, Frank Costanza introduced Festivus to us. Whether it was the Airing of Grievances, Feats of Strength, or the aluminum pole, yet another Seinfeld episode had us in stitches.
Although we introduced no similar creative holidays on the blog this year, we still hope we brought a chuckle as we
Conquering the FMLA Medical Certification Process: A Recap of our Webinar
Thanks to those who attended my webinar last week with Matt Morris on “Conquering the FMLA Medical Certification Process: Best Practices for Employers.”
We covered a whole host of topics during the webinar: How does an employer handle an employee who does not return medical certification? Or one that is vague and ambiguous? How should
FMLA Insights Selected as One of Top 100 Legal Blogs by ABA Journal for A Third Consecutive Year
I am delighted and downright humbled to announce that our FMLA Insights blog has been selected for the third consecutive year as one of the Top 100 Legal Blogs of 2013 by the ABA Journal! In its 7th Annual ABA Journal Blawg 100, the ABA Journal also was kind enough to name FMLA
“Eating Turkey Made Me Fall Asleep and I Missed my Shift”: How Employers Can Deal with the Most Outrageous Excuses for FMLA Leave
According to a recent CareerBuilder survey, nearly one-third (32 percent) of your employees have called in sick when they’re not actually sick. Perhaps just as notable, 30 percent of your employees admit that they have reported to work despite actually being sick. The reason? So they can save their sick days for when they’re
Can an Indefinite Leave of Absence Be a Reasonable Accommodation?
One of the most difficult issues an HR professional or in-house employment counsel faces is how to deal with an employee who cannot return to work after FMLA leave expires. Is additional leave required? What law applies and what are the obligations for an employer in this situation?
Despite the uncertainty of what additional leave
Employee with Crying Spells after Daughter’s Sexual Assault Has Viable FMLA Claim
Kris was forced to endure the unthinkable: her daughter had just become the victim of a sexual assault.
In the weeks that followed, Kris alerted her employer of the assault and the care her daughter would require in the time ahead. Kris suffered too. As her doctor would later report, she had crying spells, a