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The 4 Ways to Challenge FMLA Certs

Alexis, who offered his intermittent leave tips during the recent Advanced Employment Issues Symposium in Las Vegas, is with the Kinaga Law Firm in Los Angeles. The certification process is set up to allow you to get the facts that establish the medical necessity or qualifying exigency that qualify employees for leave. If you doubt […]

Employees’ smartphones as potential sources of evidence

By Antoine Aylwin and Edith Charbonneau Your employee quits his job and returns his smartphone. It contains information that shows he was scheming against you. What can you do with this? Could you use the e-mails found in the smartphone as evidence? This question was recently ruled upon by the Quebec Superior Court in Les […]

On the Brink of Failure: HR to the Manager’s Rescue

It’s tough to confront a manager’s failure, but there is a system that can result in a turnaround, says consultant Paul Falcone, who is known for his detailed and practical guidance for HR managers. Falcone, author of a number of SHRMStore best-sellers, including 101 Tough Conversations to Have with Employees and 101 Sample Write-Ups for […]

FMLA Leave HR Conundrums: Handling Suspected Fraud

FMLA leave provides enough regulations for HR to contend with—no one wants to add a fraud investigation into the mix. However, it’s an unfortunate reality that some employees try to abuse the system, especially when it comes to intermittent leave. What can an employer do when fraud is suspected? What Constitutes FMLA Fraud “What constitutes […]

Chronic Illness and FMLA Leave: How to Avoid Abuse

Chronic illness can present unique situations when it comes to managing the associated FMLA leave. Since chronic illnesses are generally defined as those lasting a year or longer, and statistics indicate that about 40 percent of U.S. workers have at least one chronic ailment (and about 20 percent have two or more), this means that […]

HR on the Move—What Are Best Practice Companies Doing?

Please participate in our brief Your HR Department Survey and see how what you are doing stacks up against what other successful companies are doing.   We’ll publish the survey results in a future issue (or we’ll send them directly to you, if you prefer).   Do you “sit at the table”? What’s being outsourced? […]

HAZWOPER Training Requirements Video: Part 1

In this video, I ask Dave to explain what HAZWOPER is, to go over who is covered by this regulation, and to give a brief overview of the training requirements for different groups of employees and managers. Hi Dave, let’s start with the basics. What is HAZWOPER? DG: HAZWOPER stands for hazardous waste operations and […]

Handle with care: Even nonunion strikers can present risk

Low-wage workers in cities across the country carried signs and voiced demands for higher pay last week, but those strikes and similar work stoppages last May differ from traditional walkouts. Unlike in most strikes, the picketers aren’t part of a union although they are getting encouragement from organized labor, especially from the Service Employees International […]

When is a Chronic Illness a Disability?

An employee with chronic illness may actually be an employee with a disability. If so, this triggers all the rights and responsibilities outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). As such, employers need to be cognizant that an employee requesting leave to handle an aspect of a chronic illness may actually be entitled to […]