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 beyond 12 weeks required? The answer is almost always ‘yes.’ But how much leave are we obligated to provide? And what if
Best Practices for Employers from my Webinar on FMLA and ADA Overlap Issues (and a Link to our Recording!)
Thanks to those who attended my webinar last week on FMLA and ADA Overlap Issues. If you missed the program, you can download our presentation here (pdf).
In a mere hour plus, Sara Elder, (Division Vice President, Fair Employment & Compliance, for Sears Holdings Management Corporation) Matt Morris (Vice President at ComPsych) …
Join Me for a Complimentary Webinar: “Where ADA and FMLA Overlap: Leaves, Accommodations and Headaches, Oh My!”
It’s Webinar Time!
When managing an employee with a medical condition, the issues involved regularly implicate the FMLA or ADA — or both. Using interactive case studies, we will address critical FMLA and ADA compliance considerations when dealing with the most difficult employee leave and accommodation scenarios.
Please join us on Thursday, November 12 (12:00…
Requiring an Employee to Return from FMLA Leave “Without Restrictions” or “Fully Healed” Is Playing with Fire
Do you know what happens when you maintain a policy or practice that requires an employee to return to work without restrictions or “100% healed”? You pay. A lot.
Just ask Brookdale Senior Living Communities. Brookdale employed Bernadine, who suffered from fibromyalgia. According to the EEOC, Brookdale refused Bernadine’s accommodation requests for a temporary modified…
DOL and EEOC Explain How They Will Approach FMLA and Reasonable Accommodation Enforcement
This week, I had the pleasure of presenting with Department of Labor and EEOC officials on key developments out of Washington with respect to leave management and accommodations. Our presentation was part of the annual conference of the Disability Management Employer Coalition. If you’re an employer and not a member of DMEC, you’re doing…
FMLA FAQ: Must an Employer Provide Intermittent FMLA Leave So An Employee Can Attend to an Autistic Child?
Q: One of our employees, a front desk receptionist, maintains an erratic work schedule because she must attend to her autistic son. In short, her son throws a tantrum at school if his mom does not personally drop him off and pick him up from school. For instance, he hides under a table, refuses to…
Does FMLA Cover In Vitro Fertilization? Does It Matter if Dad’s Sperm is to Blame?
Is that all it takes to get you to click on my blog entry — make a reference to “sperm” in the blog title and post a silly photo of this little guy? That was like taking candy from a baby!
Now that we have that behind us, I was posed an interesting question a…
Supreme Court Gives Pregnant Employees a Path Toward Securing Workplace Accommodations
All across America this morning, pregnant employees are screaming out in muted shouts of joy and giving each other belly bumps.
Last year, I reported on the EEOC’s recent pregnancy discrimination guidance, which interpreted the Pregnancy Discrimination Act as requiring workplace accommodations for pregnant employees even if impairments suffered during pregnancy do not rise…
EEOC Regional Attorney John Hendrickson Offers Key Insights on EEOC’s Pregnancy Discrimination Guidance
Last week, I had the pleasure of presenting with EEOC Regional Attorney in the Chicago District John Hendrickson on the EEOC’s recently drafted Pregnancy Discrimination Enforcement Guidance and how these guidelines will impact the manner in which employers will be required to provide accommodations to its pregnant employees. It was a great opportunity to discuss…
Employer Fails to Provide Leave of Absence to Probationary Employee, Pays the Price
Adam was a maintenance technician for EZEFLOW, a company which manufactures pipe fittings. He also was a marine corps veteran who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Upon his discharge from the marines, Adam started his employment with EZEFLOW and quickly began experiencing seizures later determined to be caused by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Adam…