In yesterday’s Advisor, attorney Stacie Caraway covered requirements for FMLA policies. Today, more recommended policy requirements, plus an introduction to a special checklist-based audit system for HR departments.
Caraway is a member of Miller & Martin PLLC in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Her remarks came at BLR’s Advanced Employment Issues Symposium, held recently in Nashville.
[Go here for yesterday’s policy recommendations]
Intermittent Leave
Describe the smallest increment in which FMLA leave can be taken (hourly, etc). Note that the amount cannot be greater than hourly, says Caraway.
State that FMLA leave can be used on either a continuous or intermittent (reduced/part-time) basis.
Be sure—if you want to use it—to include the DOL-permitted exception that FMLA leave related to the birth, placement for foster care or adoption of a child CANNOT be taken intermittently AND must be used within one year of the birth or placement of the child.
Call-in Requirements
State that employees who are approved for intermittent FMLA leave must continue to comply with the company’s regular ‘call-in’ and other absence reporting policies to the extent possible. (Employees on leave think they can come and go as they please, says Caraway, but you can require that they comply with your rules.)
Restoration Rights
Describe the FMLA’s restoration rights. You can provide for termination at the end of an FMLA leave under certain circumstances if you wish.
State that the return to work certification will be required (for leaves necessitated by the employee’s own serious health condition).
Documentation and Benefits During Leave
State that periodic updates and additional documentation supporting the continued need for leave also may be required
Describe how an employee’s health insurance benefits will be continued during an FMLA leave
Describe how the accrual of other employee benefits such as seniority and vacation time will be treated during an FMLA leave
Find problems before the feds do. HR Audit Checklists ensures that you have a chance to fix problems before government agents or employees’ attorneys get a chance. Try the program at no cost or risk.
Fraudulent Acts
State that any employee who fraudulently obtains or uses a family or medical leave will be subject to immediate termination
FMLA Contact
Identify a company position to whom all FMLA questions should be directed.
Dealing with FMLA—a critical concern, no doubt, but hardly the only one you’ll have to worry about today. Who knows what your supervisors and managers are up to while you’re not looking. The solution? There’s only one: regular audits.
Audits are the only way to make sure that employees in every corner of your facility are operating within policy guidelines. If you’re not auditing, someone’s probably violating a policy right now.
The rub is that for most HR managers, it’s hard to get started auditing—where do you begin?
BLR’s editors recommend a unique product called HR Audit Checklists. Why are checklists so great? Because they’re completely impersonal, forcing you to jump through all the necessary hoops one by one. They also ensure consistency in how operations are conducted. That’s vital in HR, where it’s all too easy to land in court if you discriminate in how you treat one employee over another.
Using the “hope” system to avoid lawsuits? (We “hope” we’re doing it right.) Be sure! Check out every facet of your HR program with BLR’s unique checklist-based audit program. Click here to try HR Audit Checklists on us for 30 days.
HR Audit Checklists compels thoroughness. For example, it contains checklists both on Preventing Sexual Harassment and on Handling Sexual Harassment Complaints. You’d likely never think of all the possible trouble areas without a checklist; but with it, just scan down the list, and instantly see where you might get tripped up.
In fact, housed in the HR Audit Checklists binder are dozens of extensive lists, organized into reproducible packets, for easy distribution to line managers and supervisors. There’s a separate packet for each of the following areas:
- Staffing and training (incorporating Equal Employment Opportunity in recruiting and hiring, including immigration issues)
- HR administration (including communications, handbook content, and recordkeeping)
- Health and safety (including OSHA responsibilities)
- Benefits and leave (including health cost containment, COBRA, FMLA, workers’ compensation, and several areas of leave)
- Compensation (payroll and the Fair Labor Standards Act)
- Performance and termination (appraisals, discipline, and termination)
HR Audit Checklists is available to HR Daily Advisor readers for a no-cost, no-risk evaluation in your office for up to 30 days. Visit HR Audit Checklists, and we’ll be happy to arrange it.