The U.S. Department of Labor, which enforces the Family and Medical Leave Act
(FMLA), has announced that it will soon publish—by June 2006—a new rule
conforming the department’s regulations to recent court decisions concerning the
FMLA.
The key trigger for the new rule was the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2002 decision
in Ragsdale v. Wolverine World Wide, Inc., in which the court invalidated a FMLA
regulation that penalized employers for failing to designate leave as FMLA
leave. In particular, the regulation provided that if an employer failed to
designate the leave as FMLA leave, the time off wouldn’t count against the
employee’s 12 weeks of FMLA leave entitlement.
We’ll have full details in the California Employer Advisor when the DOL
issues the new rule.
Additional Resources:
Compliance Guide to
the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act and the California Family Rights Act, a
California Employer Advisor Special Report
Ragsdale v. Wolverine World Wide, Inc., U.S. Supreme Court,
2002