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Compensation & Benefits

Insure for workers’ comp? Your liability policy may cover gross negligence, too

03/01/2008
The Texas Supreme Court recently decided that employers that have workers’ compensation insurance and are sued for gross negligence could also insure for any damages a court may award for that negligence. If you don’t know whether your employers’ liability policy covers additional damages, now is a good time to check the policy …

Time records crucial in FMLA eligibility calculation

03/01/2008

As a practical matter, the FMLA requires employers to carefully keep track of all hours each employee works. If the employer’s time records don’t include all time worked, it is up to the employer to prove to the court that the employee didn’t work enough hours to qualify for FMLA leave. With poor records, that may be hard to do …

Paid sick leave proposal put before legislature

03/01/2008

A proposal that would require most Ohio companies to give employees at least seven paid sick days each year is headed to the state Legislature under the Healthy Families Act …

Paying back ‘Borrowed’ vacation leave

03/01/2008

Q. We allow our employees to “borrow” unearned vacation time. Our policy provides that if employees quit or are terminated with a “negative” vacation balance, the amount that they owe us for the vacation time taken before it was earned will be deducted from their final pay. Can we do this? …

FMLA extended to military families: More changes to come?

03/01/2008

For the first time since it became law in 1993, the FMLA has been amended. President Bush signed H.R. 4986 in January. The law grants FMLA-protected leave to workers who care for injured soldiers and families of reservists called to duty …

Furniture firm makes interest-Free vacation loans to employees

03/01/2008

Employees at Phoenix-based Goodmans Interior Structures get a little help when it comes to planning—and paying for—their vacations. The office furniture supplier makes interest-free vacation loans to employees through Club MEG, named for CEO Murray E. Goodman …

Returning from FMLA leave may require ADA accommodation

03/01/2008

Balancing time off with reasonable accommodations can be tough if one of your employees is covered by both the FMLA and the ADA. You must be especially careful if a disability means an employee needs to take her 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave, but can’t quite return to work without an accommodation …

Temporary illnesses and injuries aren’t disabilities

03/01/2008

Fortunately for employers, not every temporary physical restriction is a disability under the ADA. Before you entertain accommodations, look at the claimed disability and decide whether the problem will resolve itself within a reasonable time frame or if it permanently impairs a major life function …

You don’t need a second opinion to reject FMLA certification

03/01/2008

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Michigan, recently handed employers some ammunition to fight FMLA claims. In its decision in Novak v. MetroHealth Medical Center, the court reaffirmed that an employer is not obligated to get a second opinion when it rejects an employee’s certification paperwork …

FMLA expansion to military families approved

03/01/2008

For the first time since it became law in 1993, the FMLA has been amended. President Bush signed H.R. 4986 in January, granting FMLA-protected leave to family members of injured military personnel and to families of military reservists called to active duty …