Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
You’d think we’d have the FMLA figured out by now, but we have two issues that we don’t know how to address. One employee has requested leave, but she hasn’t yet worked 1,250 hours and hasn’t been employed by us for 12 months. However, by the time the requested leave would begin, she would have […]
We have an employee who told us she had cancer and went on leave. Her co-workers stepped up to help get all her work done. Then we found out that it was a fraud—she didn’t have cancer at all. Can we fire the lying employee, or might there be an Americans with Disabilities Act issue? […]
Some issues have arisen with several of our employees who are out on leave—their jobs have been changed or eliminated, and one employee has done something that warrants termination. But someone told me that these workers are “protected” because they are on leave. Can we go ahead and fire them, or will we be slapped […]
Can an employee take FMLA leave to care for a domestic partner?
We have an employee who is “sick” quite often. I suspect that there’s not any illness, just a desire to stay home, because the illnesses always seem to be at stressful times for the business. I have asked her for a doctor’s note for the file, and she gets very angry and says that by […]
Our office pays a set amount for employee health benefits. Expenses beyond that amount (generally spouse and/or dependent coverage) are the employee’s responsibility and are deducted from the employee’s paychecks. If an employee is out on pregnancy leave or FMLA and there are no paychecks from which to deduct the employee share of the premium, […]
Barbara Neisendorf, a vice president at Levi Strauss & Co., had serious performance problems during her 2 years at the company. Supervisor Fred Paulenich documented the deficiencies and discussed them with Neisendorf, but she refused to accept responsibility. Shortly after the performance meeting, Neisendorf began an 8-week medical leave for a panic disorder. At the […]
Can my employee take FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) leave to care for a domestic partner’s child?
When one employee’s son was born, he took 10 days of vacation. Then he took five days of sick leave, and now he has requested FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) leave. We didn’t see all this leave coming. Do we have to give him 12 additional weeks of time off, or can we make […]
We have been a little inconsistent in administering pregnancy leaves. We now have several employees who are in the early stages of pregnancy or who have casually mentioned that they are ready to start their families. I’d like to get my policies clearly laid out before these employees start requesting leave. Under federal and California […]