FMLA

DOL issues new FMLA forms, hints at changes

07/30/2020

The U.S. Department of Labor has just updated its set of official FMLA notification and certification forms—and asked for more employer input, a request that suggests more form changes may soon be on the way.

No day camp…no problem: Paid FMLA leave may still apply

06/18/2020

According to the Department of Labor, paid FMLA leave isn’t available after schools close for the summer, because that’s not a coronavirus-related reason. But, up to 12 weeks of paid FMLA leave may be available, if camps or other programs in which employees’ kids were enrolled didn’t open due to the coronavirus.

You make the FMLA ‘healthcare provider’ call

06/04/2020

When an employee wants FMLA leave, you don’t have to take her word for it that she has a serious health condition. You may insist on a certification that she is undergoing “continuing treatment by a health care provider.”

Coming to a court near you: covid-19 lawsuits

05/27/2020

In just a few weeks, dozens of federal lawsuits have been filed alleging some workplace wrong related to the coronavirus or covid-19.

New coronavirus bill includes more paid leave

05/21/2020

The latest coronavirus relief bill—the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act, passed by the House of Representatives on May 15—contains many provisions that will affect employers if it is enacted.

OK to discipline for leaving work ‘feeling sick’

05/14/2020

If a worker tells her supervisor she’s having a flareup of a serious health condition and must leave, that may invoke the FMLA, the ADA or both. But a run-of-the-mill, “I feel sick and am going home” declaration isn’t protected activity.

Calling off sick doesn’t trigger FMLA rights notice

05/07/2020

Employers are obliged to let employees know about their FMLA rights—when it’s clear they are dealing with a serious health condition. Merely calling off sick won’t cut it.

DOL issues temporary paid leave regs

04/03/2020

The Department of Labor has issued temporary regulations covering the paid leave provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The temporary regs became effective April 1, 2020, and will expire Dec. 31, 2020. The regs will appear in the Federal Register on April 6.

Who is and isn’t eligible for emergency leave?

04/02/2020

Central to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which took effect April 1, are provisions granting emergency paid sick leave and paid family leave to certain employees who have been affected by the pandemic. However, there is lots of confusion about who may take that leave and how much they will be paid.

DOL issues employer guidance on leave provisions of FFCRA

03/31/2020

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has issued a new round of guidance telling employers how to comply with the paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave benefits written into the Families First Coronavirus Response Act that went into effect April 1.