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FMLA

Intermittent leave and part-time status

01/01/2008

Q. Can we change an employee’s status from full time to part time if he takes intermittent leave and his hours fall below what we consider full-time work? …

Multi-Site location: Are we covered under FMLA?

01/01/2008

Q. We have nine office locations spread around the state. All of them have far fewer than 50 employees. Do we have to offer FMLA leave? …

Consider ADA before firing after 12 weeks

01/01/2008

Q. Can FMLA leave be extended beyond the 12 weeks specified in the law? What if the employee is disabled and can’t return to work right away or can come back only part time? …

How do California and federal laws treat surrogate motherhood?

01/01/2008

Q. One of our employees announced that she has agreed to become a surrogate mother. What, if any, kind of leave are we required to provide to her? …

FMLA leave for small employers

01/01/2008

Q. If an employer is not covered by the FMLA, is the employee entitled to leave time for the birth of a child, the employee’s serious medical condition or the serious medical condition of a family member? …

Employee saying he ‘May’ have medical problem triggers FMLA

01/01/2008

Once an employer knows an employee will need FMLA leave, it cannot use that knowledge to the employee’s disadvantage. That’s true even if it’s only possible that the employee may need leave. It raises serious suspicions about your motives if you fire an employee shortly after he delivers notice he may need FMLA leave—and practically guarantees a lawsuit …

Corzine, Sweeney push worker-Paid family leave bill

01/01/2008

Gov. Jon Corzine and State Sen. Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, are pushing a bill that would make New Jersey the third state to offer mandatory paid leave to employees to care for a new child or sick relative. Sweeney originally proposed 10 weeks of leave, but said in November he would consider cutting that to six weeks if it would get the proposed plan passed …

Worker receiving disability benefits: Can we substitute unpaid FMLA for paid leave?

01/01/2008

Q. My employee, who is a union member, has a nonwork-related injury that requires a six-week absence from work. In the meantime, she is receiving $300 per week through a union trust fund that provides her and other covered union members with short-term disability benefits. She also has requested and was placed on FMLA leave. We’d like her to substitute any unpaid FMLA leave with paid leave, which is our usual company policy when someone is out on FMLA leave. Is there a problem with doing this in this situation?

Suspect employee plays fast and loose with FMLA leave? Check medical certification

01/01/2008

Employers are entitled to information about the FMLA intermittent leave employees take and can request certification from the employee’s health care providers. Employers then have to abide by the certification—unless the employer receives information that casts doubt on the certification …

Tell employees when you plan to charge time off to FMLA

01/01/2008

When an employee takes leave to deal with a serious health condition, be sure to inform her that you plan to charge the time against her allotment of unpaid FMLA leave. If you fail to do so and the employee later runs out of leave and loses a benefit, it will be relatively easy for her to sue and show she was somehow harmed by the lack of notice …