In the middle of a global pandemic, employers still grapple every day with the age-old question: When an employee exhausts FMLA leave and cannot return to work, does the law require the employer to provide the employee additional leave? Question 1A surely is close behind: can the employee safely be terminated at that point? Without
leave as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA
A Recap of our Webinar: Effective Ways to Protect Your Organization Against FMLA Abuse
Thanks to those who attended my webinar last week with Matt Morris on “Stop the Madness! Effective Ways to Protect Your Organization Against FMLA Abuse.” A link to access the recording can be found here, and the presentation PowerPoint slides can be downloaded here.
To the nearly 7,000 people who registered…
Complying with the FMLA and ADA When Your Employee is Dealing with a Mental Health Condition: A Recap of our Webinar
At last! Not One, But TWO Court Decisions That Scale Back an Employee’s Right to Take Additional Leave After FMLA is Exhausted

There may not be an issue that strikes more fear in the land of HR than how to deal with an employee who cannot return to work after FMLA leave expires. Is some additional leave beyond 12 weeks required? The answer is almost always ‘yes.’…
Can We Lawfully Terminate an Employee After He Submits a Vague Doctor’s Note Seeking an Extension of Leave? In a Word, Yes.
An employee’s 12 weeks of FMLA leave has exhausted, and over the past several weeks, he’s provided you a series of vague doctor’s notes typically containing nothing more than a one-liner extending his medical leave of absence until his next appointment.
Sound familiar? Makes you want to scream, right?
What if I told you that,…
EEOC Issues New Resource Document Addressing Leave as a Reasonable Accommodation under the ADA. What’s the Impact on Employers?
For years, employers across America have been clamoring for guidance from the EEOC about how they should manage an employee’s request for extended or intermittent leave from work and how much leave is considered as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. This week, employers received an answer.
Well, kind of.
Yesterday, the EEOC issued a…
An Employee’s “Hope” That She’ll Return to Work Isn’t Enough to Require Additional Leave under the ADA
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) …
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…
EEOC Commissioner Gives Insight into Handling Employee Leaves of Absence After FMLA is Exhausted
Last week, I had the pleasure of co-presenting with EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum on the topic of “leave” as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. Our presentation was part of an FMLA/ADA compliance conference hosted by the Disability Management Employer Coalition. You can access BNA’s coverage of our presentation here (pdf). Naturally, Cmmr. Feldblum…