Family and Medical Leave

How yesterday’s federal court strike of PA’s same-sex marriage ban affects employers

May 21, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

ICYMI, yesterday, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania ruled in this opinion that PA’s same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional.

How fitting that the first gay couple in Philadelphia to obtain a marriage license was Kerry Smith and Rue Landau, who serves as the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations (PCHR). Congratulations, Rue and Kerry!

So, now that, for the time being, gay marriage is legal in the Keystone State, how does this impact local employers? Find out after the jump…

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Should U.S. employers provide “paid menstrual leave”?

May 19, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

In Friday’s edition of The Atlantic, Emily Matcher’s “Should Paid ‘Menstrual Leave’ Be a Thing?” was shared over 12,000 times.

The article notes that several Asian countries including Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia, offer “menstrual leave” for women endure painful periods. However, Ms. Matcher mentioned that, while many of these laws are “well-intentioned,” many women decline to take leave given the potential embarrassment of having to substantiate the basis for their “menstrual leave” or because they may be viewed as weak.

Katy Waldman, writing at The Slate Blog, says “Thanks, but We Will Pass on Paid Menstrual Leave.” She argues that companies with reasonable sick-leave policies “should be able to accommodate these women without prying into their pants.”

Teacher can’t return to work two weeks after maternity leave ends, but may have an ADA claim

April 29, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Recently, I gave a webinar about the interplay between the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. One of the takeaways there was that, when an employee’s 12 weeks of FMLA leave expire, you need to be thinking about ADA implications rather than processing a pink slip at 12 weeks and a day. This is because additional leave may be a reasonable accommodation.

The same issues can arise if you have a pregnant employee. That is, you need to consider the interplay between the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the ADA.

A recent case shows how the ADA may apply to pregnant employees.

I ran my mouth for an hour and six minutes about the FMLA/ADA interplay

April 25, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Only the dorkiest of HR/Lawyers dorks could appreciate this webinar.

Here is the recording.

Here are the slides.

There is no right to be completely left alone while on FMLA leave

April 21, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

One of the questions I hear a lot from employers is: Can we communicate with employees on Family and Medical Leave Act leave and, if so, how much?

I’ll get to that in a second.

#HelpShaneFightCancer

FACT OR FICTION: You must provide FMLA to someone who “potentially” qualifies for it

March 26, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

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.”

Employee comes to you with a leave request in which he potentially qualifies for FMLA. Must you provide it?

Break ’em off Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals:

FACT OR FICTION: An FMLA-eligible employee can decline FMLA leave

March 12, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

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.”

One of your FMLA-eligible employees walks into HR one day and says that she has a serious health condition and would like to take time off to treat her injury. However, the employee, who has paid time off banked away, says that she’d like to dip into her bank of PTO and exhaust that without using any of her 12 weeks of FMLA.

Can your employee affirmatively decline to use FMLA leave, even if the underlying reason for seeking the leave would have invoked FMLA protection?

Requiring a doctor’s note for each FMLA absence may be unlawful

February 25, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Those four-letter federal employment statutes — FMLA and FLSA — can be a real pain in the ass, amirite?

Today’s let’s focus on a major employer pitfall: intermittent leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

The FMLA regulations define intermittently leave this way:

FACT OR FICTION: Snow + Office Closed = FMLA Day

February 13, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

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.”

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

Do you still count today’s snow-induced office closure towards the 12 workweeks of FMLA to which your employee is entitled?

New bill in Congress will revamp FMLA to cover smaller employers

February 7, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

How about cutting the 50-employee requirement for covered employers in half?

So, if you have 25 or more employees working within 75 miles of one another, they would be eligible to take leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

And that’s just part of the Family and Medical Leave Enhancement Act of 2014, which Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this week.