Articles Discussing General Issues Under The FMLA.

John always sat in the same spot in the same pew, positioned about 50 feet from the side entrance of the church.

Deep in prayer, a rosary wrapped around his left hand, John would lift his head and turn toward me as I entered that side door every Friday morning.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides critical job-protected leave for employees facing serious health conditions or family needs. However, the protections of the FMLA are not absolute, and employees may find themselves without its shield when an employer honestly believes they have engaged in FMLA fraud.

A recent

What kind of notice must employees provide to their employer when taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act? And how strictly may an employer rely on a doctor’s certification regarding the amount of FMLA leave an employee requires? A recent decision, Jackson v. United States Postal Service, from

Employees take time off work for a variety of reasons, some of which may trigger use of FMLA leave—even when an employee does not request FMLA leave. Employers should be cognizant of the circumstances under which they have a duty to inform employees that their time off may be protected by the Family Medical Leave Act.

Yesterday, the US Department of Labor resurrected its Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program, which encourages employers to own up to potential minimum wage and overtime violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act and resolve them at an early opportunity.

For the first time in history, the DOL is

Within the past ten years or so, there has been an uptick in states adopting laws concerning paid sick leave. As a result, multi-state employers have become accustomed to having to closely monitor the adoption of laws in the states in which their employees work to ensure their policies and practices are in compliance with all applicable paid leave laws. That task became more cumbersome with the rise in remote work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the rise in local jurisdictions following suit and adopting their own paid leave laws.

Mid-Year Paid Family Medical Leave Update

It is that time of year again when about half of the state paid family and medical leave (PFML) programs have announced changes to their contribution rates and benefits. A few programs have also announced a new state average weekly wage (SAWW), upon which

What are we craving right now?

The Rule of Law!

Let me tell you, the American Bar Association delivered this past week!

Every spring, the ABA’s Labor and Employment Section Wage and Hour Committee publishes a comprehensive report of FMLA decisions handed down by the federal courts in the previous

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released new guidance on the federal income and employment tax treatment of contributions and benefits paid under state paid family and medical leave (PFML) statutes. This guidance also outlines the related reporting requirements for employers and employees. There was no published guidance that addressed

In a significant development for employers managing Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) programs, the IRS has issued new guidance clarifying the federal income and employment tax treatment of contributions and benefits under state-funded PFML programs. This guidance, detailed in Revenue Ruling 2025-4, addresses key tax implications for both employers

On January 14, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled in Walkingstick Dixon v. Oklahoma Regional University System Board of Regents that the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) permits actions against individuals in limited circumstances when the individual qualifies as an “employer” under the “economic

The IRS’s recently released Revenue Ruling 2025-4 provides significant guidance on the employment tax treatment of contributions to and benefits paid under state paid family and medical leave (PFML) programs. This has been an area of concern as states have enacted various paid leave laws without providing guidance about how

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a significant decision regarding the interpretation of the mysterious “in loco parentis” relationships under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Chapman v. Brentlinger Enterprises held that an in loco parentis relationship can develop between two adults, including siblings, when one adult

Let me share a story about Celestia, who requested a few weeks of FMLA leave to care for her sister who was dying from cancer.

Celestia was a finance manager at Midwest Auto Group (known as “MAG”), a car dealership that peddles luxury cars.

What follows, though, is a total

Every once in awhile, the U.S. Department of Labor rattles its saber, warning employers that it’s readying itself for aggressive enforcement investigations reviewing alleged FMLA violations.

For instance, two years ago, the DOL announced that it would ramp up FMLA audits (as well as wage and hour audits generally) those employers