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More specifically, as posed in this recent federal court decision, “when an employer requires an employee to attend alcohol counseling and treatment sessions as a condition of keeping her job, must the employer compensate the employee for the time she spends in counseling and treatment?”

The three plaintiffs, NYPD police offers, identified three aspect of counseling that they claim they were required to undertake: (1) inpatient counseling at a residential treatment facility (with respect to one plaintiff); (2) outpatient counseling during regularly-scheduled work hours; and (3) outpatient counseling after regularly scheduled work hours. All three were paid their regular wage while in counseling. However, none of these employees received overtime.

More after the jump…

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You wouldn’t want to make the same egregious mistake as a Michigan employer. After the jump, I’ll discuss the colossal screw-up and help you avoid it.

Don’t worry. I’ll wait and listen to some Foo Fighters while you go grab your FMLA policy.

[Two bad words near the end of the Foo Fighters song. So, if you’re going to play it at work. Well, don’t play it at work].

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FMLAPierce.jpg

A gentle reminder that eligible employees can take leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent — but not a parent “in-law”) with a serious health condition, like a bad respiratory illness that requires hospitalization.

Please send some good vibes to my little guy, Pierce.

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On the heels of the excuses we’ve been hearing this week from meteorologists on the east coast about the transformation of Snowmageddon to #Snowperbole…

— well, at least one weatherperson owned it —

…What better way to end the week than with a list of creative excuses; namely, CareerBuilder.com’s top 10 from its recent Most Bizarre Late-to-Work Excuses survey. While “I got jammed up at a pajama-jammy-jam” didn’t make the list, here’s what did:

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Remember that blog post I had from July of last year, the one you contemplated getting tattooed on your back.

Yeah, you know the one. This one, silly. About the Fundamentalist Christian, who, upon filling out his new-employee paperwork, refused to provide a social security number because it would cause him to have the “Mark of the Beast.” So, he sought a religious accommodation, which the company refused to provide because obtaining a social security number is a federal requirement.

Welp, the employee appealed the decision to a federal appellate court?

How you think that turned out? Find out after the jump…

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Fact or Fiction?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.”

(Indeed, today, I’m so damn lazy, that I’m republishing a post from last year)

One of your employees is currently using FMLA leave. Today, due to the winter storm, you’ve decided to close the office. 

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