Tag: Family and Medical Leave Act

Attacking Motherhood and Apple Pie: Pregnancy Discrimination in the Workplace

by Al Vreeland What could be more noxious to the American soul than an assault on motherhood? We all have a mother (though some might question the genetic origin of lawyers). Many of us return to her apron strings when we need reassurance that we haven’t become fat and stupid (or at least completely so). […]

How Can Employers Avoid Legal Issues When Firing Employees?

by Gary Jiles Q: Everywhere you turn right now, you hear bad news about the economy. As a small-business owner, I’m afraid I’ll have to resort to letting go of several hourly employees. Like other employers, I’ve dealt with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charges from employees, and I have many employees who belong to […]

Ways Employers Can Reduce Workers’ Comp Costs

The gloom of our current economic circumstances should inspire everyone to look for ways to cut costs and streamline operations. One place businesses can start might be the administration of their workers’ compensation program, where expenses can rapidly get out of hand if employers aren’t careful. Here’s a brief checklist of things to look for. […]

Using Surveillance to Investigate Workers’ Suspicious FMLA Medical Claims

Employers face a real challenge in meeting client and customer needs when staff members take time off work under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or ask for extensive disability accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). But what’s already a difficult situation can become downright aggravating when you have reason to believe […]

Avoiding Legal Pitfalls During RIFs and When Reducing Workers’ Hours

by John Vering On Oct. 3, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ reported that over the past 12 months, the number of unemployed has increased by 2.2 million and the unemployment rate has risen by 1.4 percentage points. Total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 159,000 in September and thus far in 2008, payroll employment has […]

‘Willful’ Violations under FMLA Clarified

by Alyssa Yatsko Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), an employee has two years from the date of an FMLA violation to file a lawsuit against his employer. If the violation was “willful,” however, the employee has three years to file the lawsuit. Up until now, the Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals […]

What’s an FMLA ‘Qualifying Exigency’?

by Robert P. Tinnin, Jr. Q. In January of this year, amendments to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) became effective, adding certain types of leave for family members to help relatives serving in the military. I understand the leave is available for a “qualifying exigency.” What is that? I recently had an employee […]

Worker Hands Employer Tough FMLA, ADA Case

(Updated Dec. 30, 2009) Q. We have an employee who works as an administrative assistant. She was recently in a car accident and injured her arm, hand, and wrist. Her main job duty is to transcribe documents. That often requires her to type for hours at a time. She also is responsible for taking handwritten […]

What To Do When the FMLA Lights Come Up

You’re sitting in your favorite HR juke joint, crying into your beer over the pain and heartache your employees have caused you this week. After a few cold ones, solving the world’s HR problems begins to look simple. Then, as you near that moment of perfect clarity, the lights come up and the bartender shouts, […]