Happy 30th birthday, you wonderful old FMLA! 

Break out the band aids and ace bandages! It’s time to celebrate a special birthday for our favorite federal statute.

All weekend, I’ve been singing Harry Styles’ song “As It Was” to the Nowak kids:

You know it’s not the same without medical leave
In this world, it’s

I’ve often wondered — in fact, even discussed with clients — whether an employer could safely approve an employee’s FMLA-related absence and discipline the employee because he failed to timely report the absence.

I’ve theorized that an employer could pull off both because the discipline punished the late call-in, not the FMLA leave.

But I’ve

On September 11, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued revised regulations under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) following a federal court’s decision that invalidated a handful of regulatory provisions interpreting the FFCRA.  Although the DOL was widely expected to address the court decision through revised regulations and/or court action, these new

As we head into the second half of August, many of our kids are heading back to school.

Or maybe they’re not.

Full day in-person classes? Or perhaps hybrid? Semi-hybrid? Remote? Home school? Dropping out?

The possibilities are endless.

With some version of school starting up in a neighborhood near you, employers will face challenges

Let me start with a toast.

A toast to the Department of Labor, which was thrust into a spotlight it didn’t seek. After Congress hastily cobbled together a bunch of confusing words on paper providing many American workers with a modest amount of paid sick leave and amending the FMLA to do the same, DOL

For the record, I’m not getting much sleep this week, thanks to the Department of Labor. But it’s evident the DOL isn’t getting much sleep either.

Late last evening, the DOL issued a second round of Q&As (FAQs #15-37) aimed at helping employers administer emergency paid sick leave (EPSL) and paid FMLA leave (FMLA+) as