Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
As many employers discovered during the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most complex components of leave can be whether an employee’s health insurance is continued throughout the leave or whether, according to the health insurance contract, it ends if an employee doesn’t meet certain minimum weekly hours worked. Issues of this type can occur during […]
As we continue to strive for gender equality in the United States, in the case of parental leave, men are falling behind. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), only 32% of U.S. companies offer paid paternity leave, and the process for establishing paternity leave varies by state. Florida has no state-specific law […]
Question: An employee who has been approved for intermittent Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave to care for his mother is asking for two days off to bring his mother to his cousin’s funeral in another state. Would this also be covered under the FMLA? Answer: The employee may be covered under their FMLA […]
Good timing can mean the difference between success and failure, and waiting too late can cost you—as a transit employee discovered the hard way. Although this case comes from a different state, it’s still helpful when defending Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) claims in Texas. Chronic Serious Health Condition As a threshold matter under […]
Question: We have an employee who took four days off to tend to his daughter in the hospital after she received a C-section and another who wants to take three weeks off to assist her sibling going through chemotherapy. Would the absences in both scenarios fall under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? Answer: […]
We occasionally hear from clients asking if their employees have to be employed for 12 months and work 1,250 hours to qualify for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) or if they qualify as soon as they begin employment. The question appears to conflate aspects of the PWFA with a similar but distinct federal labor […]
Question: We have an employee who is undergoing fertility treatments out of town and misses days sporadically. Do these absences fall under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? Answer: Great question; complicated answer. The answer is complicated because a question about FMLA leave is always the start of a longer conversation about whether other […]
Question: What can employers do when they doubt an employee’s certification for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? Answer: If an employer doubts the validity of an employee’s FMLA certification, it may require the employee to get a second opinion from a healthcare provider. Generally, for employees to be granted leave under […]
The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) published a final rule (the “Final Rule”) in January of this year, which took effect March 11, 2024, and changed how the DOL analyzes whether a worker is properly classified as an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Employers that misclassify individuals as independent […]
Question: One of our employees has been in and out with cold and flu symptoms, but he was recently diagnosed with strep throat. The leave originally wasn’t classified as Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave, but because the official diagnosis occurred almost a month after the first missed workday, does the time he took off […]