Family and Medical Leave

DOL to Employers: Using artificial intelligence does not excuse compliance with the FLSA and FMLA

May 1, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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On Monday, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division published new guidance reminding employers that the use of artificial intelligence and other automated technologies to track work hours, optimize employee performance, and administer leaves of absence does not excuse compliance with the laws that the WHD enforces, namely, the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act. Continue reading

Let’s get back to basics: FMLA notice requirements

March 25, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

Employees who want to take leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act must give at least 30 days advance notice if possible and practical. If 30 days’ notice is not practicable, for example, when the employee does not know when leave will begin, or if circumstances change or there is a medical emergency, the employee must provide notice of the need for leave as soon as possible and practical.

The employer can deny the leave if the employee does not satisfy the FMLA’s notice requirements. Continue reading

“March Madness” is checks notes not a serious health condition.

March 22, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament began yesterday. Last night, I read that the average worker will spend seven hours watching it, with 26 percent of Americans saying they’re prepared to skip work altogether to watch. Cynically, I imagine some of these workers are currently on intermittent FMLA. Continue reading

Employers must adjust employee performance standards to avoid penalizing employees on FMLA leave

March 14, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Suppose one of your employees, a widget maker, takes leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Continue reading

Let’s revisit how to handle FMLA and FLSA for a snow day office closure.

January 16, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Back in the day, the mere promise of Cheerios and chocolate milk was all it took to dupe my two oldest kids (then three and five) to shovel the driveway for a few hours. Come to think of it, I preferred the stick to the carrot. So I probably threatened to cancel Nickelodeon and, with that, all vestiges of Yo Gabba Gabba. Either way, the children were too young and naive to ask for minimum wage or form a union. So, they shoveled snow.

Fortunately, the littlest one — salting the walkway out of frame — lacked the manual dexterity to call the NJ Department of Labor on me.

Ah, the good ‘ol days. Continue reading

They don’t call it FMLA interference for nothing

November 15, 2023 | by Eric B. Meyer

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In my day, televisions had antennas, which you had to position just right to watch one of three channels, and I’m turning into my parents.

Let’s talk about Family and Medical Leave Act interference instead. Continue reading

The EEOC and DOL are teaming up to enforce federal employment law

September 18, 2023 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Chances are, if one of your employees complained externally about discrimination, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was all up in your company’s business. Perhaps your business has had the not-so-good fortune of undergoing a Fair Labor Standards Act or Family and Medical Leave Act audit from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Late last week, the two federal watchdogs announced a partnership. Continue reading

WARNING: This could be one of my nerdiest FMLA posts yet.

September 13, 2023 | by Eric B. Meyer

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At a bench trial in a Virginia federal court in 2021, with only a Family and Medical Leave Act interference at stake, the judge concluded, “[I]t’s obvious that there is definitely liability because there was clearly a violation of the FMLA. I mean, there’s just no question about it.”

But when the plaintiff asked the court to award her front and back pay, it denied her any relief in connection with the defendant’s failure to promote her after returning from medical leave.

Huh?

An employer asked an employee for a doctor’s note with every intermittent FMLA absence. Here’s how it turned out…

August 23, 2023 | by Eric B. Meyer

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All you Family Medical Leave Act savants know about the 30-day rule, right? Continue reading

Here’s an FMLA interference case that Cosmo Kramer from Seinfeld would appreciate

July 14, 2023 | by Eric B. Meyer

In early 2020, an employee at a global food supplier left work early with flu-like symptoms. That day she obtained a doctor’s note recommending that she “stay out of work for three days, from February 19-21, 2020.” The employee requested to have five days off to recuperate. However, the note said nothing about her inability to work beyond those three days. Her employer terminated her on February 21.