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If you have doubts about FMLA eligibility, don’t hesitate to seek a second medical opinion

09/24/2010

Back in August, we told you how a federal court had dismissed a case involving a woman who had taken her child out of day care for the summer and asked for FMLA leave so she could care for him until school started. (See “School’s out for summer! But the FMLA doesn’t cover day care”.) Now the same court has reinstated the lawsuit after taking another look at the facts.

Does the FMLA cover cosmetic surgery?

09/24/2010
Q. One of our employees is having cosmetic surgery and plans to take leave. Would that fall under the FMLA, or would it be a leave of absence?

Pennsylvania House considers mandatory sick leave bill

09/24/2010

A Pennsylvania House of Representatives committee has begun considering legislation that would require all employers to provide some paid sick leave for employees. The Healthy Family, Healthy Workplaces Act would require employers with 10 or more employees to provide at least one hour of sick leave for every 40 hours worked, up to a maximum of 52 hours per year.

After brief FMLA leave, can we request a second opinion to make sure worker is ready to return?

09/22/2010
Q. We have an employee returning from a leave taken under the federal FMLA and the California Family Rights Act. His physician has issued a fitness-for-duty certificate. However, we have doubts about the worker’s ability to perform his job … Can we send him to another physician for a second fitness-for-duty examination?

Use absenteeism point system to avoid favoritism disputes

09/21/2010
Many employers use a point system to punish absenteeism, firing employees who accumulate too many points. Such a system negates the need to track the total number of hours of work an employee misses, since the employer is counting points rather than time.

Docking exempt worker for single day: Is it legal?

09/16/2010
Q. We require exempt employees who miss a full day for any reason to use either a sick day, personal day or vacation day in order to get paid for the full week. Is this appropriate? Is it permissible to pay them for less than a full week of work if they have used all of their paid leave time and still miss a full day of work?

The HR I.Q. Test: September ’10

09/13/2010
Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz …

Fired after injury, star worker sues Delta under ADA

09/08/2010

Call it a missed opportunity. Call it a misunderstanding. Nancy Grozdanich-Lipinski did neither. She called her lawyer. Grozdanich-Lipinski is suing her former employer, Delta Airlines, for violations of the ADA.

Sued for counting FMLA against fired worker? Prove you planned to discharge anyway

09/08/2010
If you’re deciding whether to fire an employee for attendance problems (under a no-fault attendance policy, for example), you must make sure you aren’t counting FMLA leave against her. However, all is not lost if you accidentally add in an FMLA absence—as long as you can show you still would have fired the employee because of other attendance problems.

Train supervisors on FMLA notice process

09/08/2010
Train supervisors and managers on situations that could trigger the FMLA leave determination process. The best approach is to suggest they notify HR if an employee calls in sick and implies anything more than “I’m sick today.” If the employee provides any detail that makes it seem likely he or a family member is suffering from a serious health condition, he should be referred to HR to determine if he’s eligible for FMLA leave.