February, 2013

Will Congress expand FMLA to include bereavement leave?

February 13, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

Yesterday, we addressed (here) the possibility of Congress taking up paid sick leave shortly.

Now, there is word that the Parental Bereavement Act, last considered in 2011 as an amendment to the Family and Medical Leave Act, is back on the table.

Last week, in this press release, Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), announced that he and and Congressman Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) will champion the effort to change the FMLA to allow parents grieving from the death of their son or daughter to receive up to 12 weeks of job-protected time-off.

Keep an eye out for a new paid-sick-leave bill in Congress

February 12, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

Coming soon, so says Senator Tom Harkin here.

Known as the “Healthy Families Act,” this bill was introduced in the House in 2009, and again in both the House and Senate in 2011, but never got much traction.

But now, in addition to Senator Harkin, former President Bill Clinton is stumping for paid FMLA.

Pennsylvania nears a game-changing whistleblower-law amendment

February 11, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

Can you blow my whistle baby, whistle baby.
Let me know.
Girl I’m gonna show you how to do it.
And we start real slow.
You just put your lips together.
And you come real close.
Can you blow my whistle baby, whistle baby?
Here we go.

Concerned with the limited scope of Pennsylvania’s Whistleblower Law, the existential activist Flo Rida wrote the 2012 hit Whistle to raise awareness and trigger a potentially huge change in the law.

{Editor’s Note: No he didn’t. Not at all.}

Facebook photos from a Mexican vacation foil an employee’s FMLA claims

February 8, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

Image Credit: Pixabay.com

I have three kids, ages three and under. So a vacation for me is the half hour of quiet time I get in the bathroom every morning.

It’s not like the old days.

I remember Spring Break ’97 in the Bahamas. Sun, beach, water sports, and a couple of adult beverages.

It was kinda like the Mexican vacation that Carol Lineberry, a former employee of Detroit Medical Center, took back in 2011. These pictures she posted on Facebook — we didn’t have Facebook back in the day, so I’ll deny everything. EVERYTHING! — show that Ms. Lineberry is having a blast in Mexico.

Did I mention that Lineberry took this trip while taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act? Of course, she did. And now she’s on The Employer Handbook.

See how that works? Like a Zoolander gasoline fight, trust me, this won’t end well for Lineberry. No, it won’t.

Read more after the jump…

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Paid Sick Leave In Philadelphia – Round 2

February 7, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

Reporter: Rock, you got anything derogatory to say about the champ?

Rocky Balboa: Derogatory? Yeah. He’s great.

{Just needed to get that out of my system}

Employees who no-call/no-show for a month lose FMLA lawsuits

February 6, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

Before going any further, allow me to wish a Happy Belated 20th Birthday to the Family and Medical Leave Act.

What can I say? I plumb forgot. To atone, I got Fammy Med a Walkman. (Kids, that’s what we used to listen to music in 1993. It doesn’t walk and it’s not a man. But it did play my mix tapes — sigh).

Next year, to celebrate the big 2-1, drinks are on me. Sizzurpbombs! Remy Martin Cognac Louis XIII.

National Right to Work? Plus, SCOTUS to take up Obama recess appointments

February 5, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

In just over half the States in America, if a majority of your co-workers elect to have a union represent them at work, then you must become a member of the union too — whether you like it or not. Nonmembers who object to that requirement must still may union dues. However, in nearly half of the USA (24 states, to be precise) employees in a unionized workplace may decide for themselves whether to join the union. This is known as “right-to-work.” Employees who exercise this right are not required to pay union dues.

Late last year, Michigan became the newest Right-to-Work State. And, last week, Senator Rand Paul (KY-R) reintroduced the “National Right-to-Work Act,” described as a bill to preserve and protect the free choice of individual employees to form, join, or assist labor organizations, or to refrain from such activities. This bill would amend both the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act to make “right-to-work” the law in all 50 states.

You can view a copy of the bill here.

GUEST POST: Shocking Consequences of Social Media In The Workplace

February 1, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

This week has been particularly dooziful — that’s a word, look it up — with employee social media tomfoolery. You’ve got the employee asking to be fired on Facebook, HMV employees hijacking the company Twitter account to live tweet firings, a restaurant employee posting snarky customer meal receipts and, two words, one hashtag, #CrunkBear (NSFW).

So, the timing couldn’t be better for our guest blogger here at The Employer Handbook. John Barrett is a writer and employment law activist. He enjoys spending time with his family and keeping up on relevant issues for employees’ conditions in the workplace. He is representing employmentlawlayers.com with his writing.

After the jump, John brings you “Shocking Consequences of Social Media In The Workplace.”

(Want to guest blog at The Employer Handbook? Email me.)

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