As employers, we face a sobering reality: at every turn, the FMLA sets us up to fail.
Whether it’s deciphering medical certification, assessing fitness for duty upon return to work, or dealing with the always frustrating intermittent leave, the FMLA is full of booby traps ready to nail us the instant we slip up.
Chief
Hello…hello…hello…is there anybody in there? Just nod if you can hear me. Is there anyone home?
Have your employees have become so evasive in their requests for medical leave that you feel like signing Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” to get them to talk? Have no fear — you don’t have to become
Later this week, I am conducting FMLA training for management employees at one of our clients. The training will focus on how the employer can utilize its own current personnel policies to properly administer FMLA leave and combat FMLA abuse. During this training, I am going to tell them about Ritenour v. State of Tennessee
Earlier this week, the folks at the Texas Employment Law Update highlighted a case before the U.S. Supreme Court in which the high court will consider whether law enforcement’s placement of a GPS devise on a suspect’s vehicle without a warrant constitutes an unlawful search in violation of the Fourth Amendment. This case led the authors to
(the county in which Chicago is located) currently faces one of the largest budget deficits in its government’s history. So, when the Cook County Board president (Toni Preckwinkle) tells the County Sheriff (Tom Dart) to cut $70 million from his budget, it tends to grab people’s attention. In this story, however, this proposed budget cut took a back seat to a notable statistic that grabbed the headlines: one out of every five employees in the sheriff’s office takes FMLA leave on any given workday. At the Cook County Jail, it’s one in four, as reported by the Chicago Tribune.
Before you are left aghast at these figures, allow me to point out a sad fact: the Cook County Sheriff is not alone. In my experience, I find all too many employers that suffer through FMLA absenteeism percentages well above the single digits. In fact, a new client shared with me that as much as 30% of its workforce is absent on any given workday, the far majority of which is FMLA-related.
When I hear of FMLA absenteeism figures as high as these, one thing is abundantly clear: FMLA abuse is rampant in that workplace. Fortunately for employers in this situation, there are several tools available to turn the tide and take back your workplace.Continue Reading As FMLA Absences Mount, the Employer Must Lay Down the Law