Family and Medical Leave

What happens in Vegas, becomes an FMLA claim. Really.

January 29, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Back in 2012, I blogged here about an employee who took her mother to Las Vegas on a vacation. The two ladies spent time playing slots, shopping on the Strip, people-watching, and dining at restaurants. The mother had terminal cancer, but had no specific plans to seek medical treatment in Las Vegas and was never hospitalized or treated by a physician.

When the employee returned to work, she soon became a former employee, immediately terminated for what her employer determined to be unauthorized absences.

The employee then sued for violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act.

The most clicked, hella-best HR-compliance updates from 2013!!!

December 30, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

Ah, it was a good year at the ole Handbook.

Total web traffic was up over fifty percent from 2012. And average time per visit was down over 20%, which is fine by me. I pad my important stats, while discouraging loitering.

And we got our first visitor from Uzbekistan. And the fifth most common search phrase that brought visitors to the site was “Kenny Powers.”

New bill in Congress would provide paid family and medical leave

December 16, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

A real game changer: Paid family and medical leave.

Details after the jump…

To all the employers too gun-shy to fire an employee on the day she returns from FMLA leave

November 22, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

Did I scare you yesterday with my post about the part-time employee denied leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act who may have an FMLA retaliation claim after receiving full-time hours?

Well, your blogtender is here with a double shot of courage. (See what I did there?)

*** blogtender pours himself a double shot of something else ***

FACT OR FICTION: Giving a part-time employee full-time hours may be FMLA retaliation?

November 21, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

That’s right folks. It’s time for another edition of “Fact or Fiction” a/k/a “Quick Answers to Quick Questions” a/k/a QATQQ f/k/a “I don’t feel like writing a long blog post.”

Come on, gang! Did you see yesterday’s blog masterpiece? Those .gif’s don’t animate themselves. My little elves — I’m classifying them as FLSA exempt by the way — crank the wheel every time you land on the page. So, cut me some slack; I’m taking it easy today.

But, check this out. We have a part-time employee who claims that her three requests for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act to care for a sick spouse are denied. Then, less than a month later, her boss gives her full-hours.

New Jersey Recognizes Same Sex Marriages – Why it Matters for Pennsylvania Employers

October 23, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

If only I had a hot tub time machine, I would have gone back a day and a half and scooped Phil Miles at Lawffice Space and posted “New Jersey Recognizes Same Sex Marriages – Why it Matters for Pennsylvania Employers” before he did.

Except I didn’t.

So read his post entitled “New Jersey Recognizes Same Sex Marriages – Why it Matters for Pennsylvania Employers.” It’s really good.

FACT OR FICTION: FMLA and workers’ compensation may run concurrently

October 11, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

That’s right folks. It’s time for another edition of “Fact or Fiction” a/k/a “Quick Answers to Quick Questions” a/k/a QATQQ f/k/a “I don’t feel like writing a long blog post.”

Earlier this week, I spoke at the SHRM Lehigh Valley Annual Conference on leave issues under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act. During the course of our discussion, not only did we address the interplay between these federal laws, but we also touched upon the impact of workers’ compensation laws.

One question that came up is whether an employer can require that an employee take FMLA leave concurrently with workers’ compensation leave.

How ordering cheesesteaks can help employers with disability-accommodation requests

September 17, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

In Philadelphia, we’re known for certain things, such as cheesesteaks. Ordering the cheesesteak is a bit of an art form. For example, I could order a “Cheese steak, with Cheez Whiz and fried onions.”

Or, I could simply say, “Cheese wit.” As most anyone around her knows that Cheez Whiz is the default “cheese” and “wit” means “with fried onions.

[Those of you who are giving me that disdainful Cheez Whiz stink face through your computer — right back at ya, when you order the “Philly Cheesesteak” on your local dinner menu. For there is nothing “Philly” or “Cheesesteak” about that sludge, right down to the Swiss cheese and mayo. Ya heathen!]

Enforce your employee call-in/notice requirements — even for FMLA leave

August 29, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

In that handbook of yours should be a page — maybe a few lines — on an employee’s responsibility to notify you if they are going to miss work. Who to call, when to call, that kind of stuff.

A recent case from the Sixth Circuit (this one) reaffirms that employees need not relax these rules — even when the employee is seeking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

In White v. Dana Light Axle Manuf., the employer had a simple rule: when you’re going to be out, call it in. The plaintiff, who needed FMLA leave for a hernia surgery, assumed that because he had previously met with the employer in person to discuss his upcoming hernia surgery, he didn’t need to later call in his absences.

FACT OR FICTION: Permanent light duty is an ADA reasonable accommodation

August 28, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

That’s right folks. It’s time for another edition of “Fact or Fiction” a/k/a “Quick Answers to Quick Questions” a/k/a QATQQ f/k/a “I don’t feel like writing a long blog post.”

Today, I’m speaking at the EEOC EXCEL Conference in Denver, CO. It’s an incredible honor, given that this is the first year that the conference has not only catered to public sector employers, but also those in the private sector.

(Well, at least, that’s what someone at yesterday’s networking reception, so I’m going with it).