• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

FMLA

If FMLA is issue, log time of firing decision

10/22/2008

Employers that can show they had decided to terminate an employee before they knew he needed FMLA leave aren’t liable for interfering with that leave. But don’t think you won’t be challenged on your timing. That’s why you must make sure you can prove exactly when you made the decision …

OK to fire employee who lies about FMLA absence

10/22/2008

Employees sometimes don’t want to give their employers personal details about an illness or a condition that may be covered by the FMLA. But if you find out they lied about the nature of their health problems, you can fire them for violating your honesty policy.

Can you be personally sued for an FMLA mistake?

10/17/2008

Lawyers believe two pockets are better than one. That’s why, whenever possible, they’ll try to sue both the employer plus the supervisor (or the HR director!) who made the alleged employment law mistake. That means the supervisor’s home and nest egg could be at risk …

Run FMLA leave concurrent with other leaves

10/17/2008

Q. One of our employees will be out for medical treatments for four to six weeks. He doesn’t want to use FMLA leave, just his accumulated sick and vacation days. We’re afraid he’ll use them up and then demand 12 weeks’ FMLA leave. Can we make him use FMLA leave first? …

Caring for grandchild qualifies for FMLA leave

10/14/2008

When an employee has a baby or adopts a child, it’s easy to determine that he or she is eligible for FMLA leave. But it gets murkier when the baby who needs care isn’t the employee’s own child. The FMLA regulations list eligible dependent children as those to whom the employee has “day-to-day responsibility to care for and financially support.”

No individual liability under FMLA for public employers

10/14/2008

Good news if you work for a public employer in Florida. If you make an FMLA mistake, you can’t be sued individually, unlike your peers in the private sector …

FMLA: Distinguish between disability and behavior

10/14/2008

Alcoholism can be a disabling medical condition that qualifies an employee to go on FMLA leave to undergo substance abuse treatment. But the same isn’t necessarily true for a drinking binge that lands an employee in the hospital …

Recalculate hours worked for 2nd FMLA request

10/10/2008

To qualify for FMLA leave, employees must have worked 1,250 hours in the preceding year. It sounds like a pretty simple calculation, but it’s not. The fact is, you could be allowing leave for employees who aren’t actually eligible for it. Here’s one way to tighten up eligibility …

Ask for clear notice of FMLA condition

10/08/2008

Employees who need FMLA leave to deal with serious health conditions are supposed to let their employers know. Employees don’t have to use the words “FMLA leave” when they request it, but they must give their employers enough information to reach the reasonable conclusion that the employee has a serious health condition. Simply calling in sick isn’t enough …

If you violate FMLA, prepare to pay employee’s attorneys’ fees, too

10/08/2008

Here’s another reason to train everyone on the intricacies of the FMLA: Employees who win even a small amount of damages in FMLA interference cases automatically get their attorneys’ fees paid by their employer. And that can add up to
big bucks …