Employers and fellow FMLA nerds, consider this an early holiday present: Courts are increasingly dismissing FMLA claims when they find that the employer has an honest belief that the employee has engaged in FMLA fraud.
This is a longer than usual post, but hang with me, as I share some best practices below.
I’ll admit it: I am longoverdue to host an FMLA webinar for employers. Wait no more! I have partnered with two fabulous attorneys — Matt Morris of FMLASource and Tamika Lynch of Siemens Industry — to hit head on a number of FMLA juggernauts that all of us face everyday.
Please join us on
(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