Like many employers, we were closed yesterday due to the massive blizzard. We have an employee out on FMLA leave. Do I count the snow day against this employee’s 12-week leave entitlement?
As FMLA Absences Mount, the Employer Must Lay Down the Law
Cook County, Illinois (the county in which Chicago is located) currently faces one of the largest budget deficits in its government’s history. So, when the Cook County Board president (Toni Preckwinkle) tells the County Sheriff (Tom Dart) to cut $70 million from his budget, it tends to grab people’s attention. In this story, however, this proposed budget cut took a back seat to a notable statistic that grabbed the headlines: one out of every five employees in the sheriff’s office takes FMLA leave on any given workday. At the Cook County Jail, it’s one in four, as reported by the Chicago Tribune.
Lessons From The Jewel-Osco / EEOC Settlement.
On January 5, the EEOC announced a $3.2 million settlement in a lawsuit against Jewel-Osco parent company Supervalu Inc., alleging that Jewel-Osco fired disabled employees at the end of medical leaves rather than returning them to work with reasonable accommodations. (Details are available in the Chicago Sun Times, and the EEOC has issued its own press release.) The settlement does not constitute an admission of liability by the company, and as reported by the Sun Times Supervalu denied any wrongdoing.
Policies, Practices and More: An FMLA “To Do” List for 2011
FMLA developments in 2010 came fast and furious: the DOL’s interpretation clarifying the definition of in loco parentis, GINA’s impact on the FMLA, an impending DOL survey on how families use medical leave, and a number of new court cases giving guidance (and in some cases, muddying the waters) on important issues such as FMLA eligiblity and notice, abuse of FMLA leave, medical certification, caring for a family member and FMLA retaliation.
The DOL’s Holiday Gift for the Plaintiff’s Bar.
Shortly before the Thanksgiving holiday, the Obama administration’s “Middle Class Task Force” announced a new program in which the U.S. Department of Labor will partner with the American Bar Association to refer complaints under the FMLA and federal wage and hour laws to private plaintiffs’ attorneys.
Senator Dodd’s Legacy: The Family and Medical Leave Act.
In the upcoming weeks, the halls of Congress will welcome a number of new faces and bid farewell to many other personalities. One of those personalities riding into the sunset is the longtime Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut. Putting aside for now whether you love him or hate him, Senator Dodd leaves at least one significant legacy behind — passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act. As the author of the FMLA, which was passed in 1993, and sponsor of several bills pending in Congress that would expand the FMLA, Senator Dodd clearly has been a strong voice for employees in the workplace.
FMLA FAQ – How do I calculate FMLA leave around the holidays?
I have an employee who is certified for FMLA leave. Our office is closed for Thanksgiving next Thursday and Friday. Do those days count as FMLA leave.
2nd Update: GINA and certification forms
Following up on our initial post and previous update regarding the new Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act regulations (which you may wish to read first), here is what we’ve learned:
GINA Rules Require New Disclosures In Requests For FMLA Certification
Employers covered by the FMLA should take note of new final regulations under the Genetic Information Nondicrimination Act (GINA) published this week by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Although the FMLA is enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor, not the EEOC, the new GINA regulations require employers who seek medical certifications in support of leave or accommodation requests – including FMLA leave – to provide new disclosures or risk violating GINA.
Scared of Liability for FMLA Retaliation? Beware of Bingo Workers!
Employers increasingly are finding federal courts to be receptive forums for the consideration of an employee’s retaliation claim. In Burlington Northern v. White, for instance, the Supreme Court held that an employer can retaliate within the meaning of Title VII with actions short of terminations and other ultimate employment actions. Last year, in Crawford v. Metro Government of Nashville, the Court ruled that an employee who was terminated after she answered questions during an employer’s internal investigation was protected under the anti-retaliatory provisions of Title VII.
Conflicting Fitness for Duty Reports Preclude Retaliation Claim
What should an employer do when an employee’s doctor releases him to return to work, but its own doctor says that the employee cannot safely return? A federal district court in Kansas recently addressed this issue, holding that an employer’s reliance upon its own doctor’s opinion that an employee could not return to work was a legitimate basis for discharging the employee after he had exhausted all of his available FMLA leave.
Knowledge of Employee’s Cancer and Discussion of FMLA Enough to Support Discharge Claim.
According to a recent ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, an employee may have a valid wrongful discharge claim under the FMLA even if she fails to actually request FMLA leave, based upon evidence that her employer was aware that she had cancer and discussed whether she had taken FMLA leave shortly before her termination.
FMLA FAQ – When does the 15-day period for returning a certification start?
Q: I know that I have to allow employees at least 15 days to return a medical certification, but when does the 15-day clock start running?
FMLA FAQ – Can an employee fill out his own medical certification?
An employee seeking FMLA leave just turned in a medical certification form with handwriting that looks suspiciously like her own. If the employee filled out this form, do we have to accept it?
Employee’s Failure To Call In Defeats FMLA Claim
Under the FMLA rules, an employer may require employees seeking FMLA leave to comply with its “usual and customary notice and procedural requirements for requesting leave,” except in “unusual circumstances” that prevent the employee from doing so. A recent decision by a federal district court in Tennessee demonstrates how this provision can be exceedingly useful to employers in managing FMLA leave. Ritenour v Tenn Dept of Human Services (.pdf).