Author: Kate McGovern Tornone

The Cost of Compliance? Applying Risk Assessment to FLSA Exemptions

By Holly Jones, JD, Senior Legal Editor During her recent master class on the upcoming changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) white collar exemptions, Kara Shea shared a wealth of advanced, in-depth legal information on wage and hour compliance. She also shared a little of the practical business strategy that comes from her […]

But Do I Have to Fire Them?

Terminating an employee is an uneasy decision. Obviously, it negatively affects the employee, it’s stressful for everyone involved, and it can lower morale (thus affecting productivity) of other employees. Clearly, this is a situation we’d all prefer to avoid.

California Court Reminds Employers to Follow Their Own Policies

By Beth Kahn and Sigalit Shoghi, Morris Polich & Purdy LLP The California Court of Appeal has sent employers a message to be vigilant in following their policies and attentive to employees who request time off for medical conditions. A recent ruling against the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) made clear that an […]

Managing Medical Certifications: Authentication, Clarification, And Second Opinions

This article series covers managing medical certifications under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). In the previous article, we covered the how to request a medical certification, here we’ll go over authentication, clarification, and second opinions surrounding medical certification. The FMLA regulations offer procedures for authenticating and clarifying medical certifications.

Ask the Expert: Military Leave—Paid or Unpaid?

We have an employee that just came back from military leave. He did not present orders to HR or payroll and turned in a timecard with “5 days Military Leave” written across the week he was gone. Payroll paid him for that week and deducted 40 hours of leave. The employee came back stating that […]

Is Extra FMLA Leave an ADA Accommodation?

By Steve Jones, JD, Jack Nelson Jones & Bryant, P.A The U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals—which covers Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota—recently affirmed an Arkansas district court’s ruling that the termination of a juvenile detention officer didn’t amount to discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or retaliation […]

FLSA Exemptions: Avoiding Legal Pitfalls

Yesterday we heard advice from expert Kara Shea concerning Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exemptions and audits. Today, more from Shea on how to stay out of legal hot water when it comes to these tricky matters.

Global Healthcare Benefit Costs Trending Higher

The cost of employee healthcare benefits around the globe is trending higher, driven largely by the higher cost of hospital and inpatient services, medical technology, and the overuse of services, according to a survey of medical insurers by Willis Towers Watson, a global advisory, broking, and solutions company. The Willis Towers Watson Global Medical Trends […]