Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
A school district failed to accommodate a teacher with seasonal affective disorder, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has determined, upholding a jury’s award of damages. The 7th Circuit had already heard the case, Ekstrand v. School District of Somerset (No. 11-1949, June 26, 2012), once before. Renae Eskstrand filed suit against her employer, […]
Branches of the federal government have taken divergent actions affecting same-sex partners. A federal district court upheld a state law defining marriage as occurring between a man and a woman; meanwhile, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management has issued final and proposed regulations to expand federal employees’ benefits coverage to their same-sex partners and those […]
As we discussed yesterday, employers are required to maintain existing health insurance coverage under a group health plan for employees during FMLA leave—and you can require the employee on leave to pay his or her share. But what happens if the employee fails to do this?
When an employee takes family or medical leave, unique compensation and benefits management issues come into play. HR and benefits professionals must know how compensation and benefits should be applied to employees who are out on family or medical leave.
Yesterday’s Advisor covered nine traps of intermittent leave; today, the tricky issue of transferring employees on leave, plus an introduction to the guide we call the “FMLA Bible.” In the case of reduced and intermittent leave, an employer may temporarily move an employee to a different job for the duration of the intermittent or reduced […]
An employer whose COBRA/leave policy did not align with a stop-loss policy’s terms continues to be on the hook for a COBRA qualified beneficiary’s medical claims that were rejected by the stop-loss insurer. The employer unsuccessfully appealed a lower court ruling that the claims were ineligible under the policy terms because they did not include […]
Newly appointed Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer — who some pundits have called “the most powerful pregnant woman in America” — is an exceptional employee in more ways than one. Even if she had worked the prerequisite 12 months (or 1,250-plus hours) at Yahoo to qualify for FMLA leave, Mayer would not be guaranteed a return […]
Yesterday’s Advisor offered the first 7 of attorney W. Melvin Haas’s tips for combating FMLA abuse. Today, the rest of his tips, plus an introduction to the book many call “the FMLA Bible.” IHaas is managing member at the Macon, Georgia office of Constangy, Brooks & Smith, LLC. [Go here for tips 1 to 7] […]
Employees were given new rights to a secure and private place in which to express breast milk under a 2010 amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act; however, that amendment does not give those employees a private right to sue their employers for failing to provide such a space. Instead, said the U.S. District Court […]
Employees are becoming more and more sophisticated in ways to abuse the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), particularly using intermittent leave when vacation and sick leave are not available, says attorney W. Melvin Haas, who offers 12 steps to minimize abuse. In order to minimize disruption in the workplace, an employer must detect and […]