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A Midwestern farm company that fired a manager on the day he was due to return from FMLA leave has withstood the ex-employee’s allegations of FMLA retaliation and interference in a 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling affirming a district court decision. The case is Winterhalter v. Dykhuis Farms, Inc., No. 11-1743 (July 23, […]
Allowing an employee to sit for half of her shift, thereby eliminating several job duties, is “per se” unreasonable, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia has found. The case, EEOC v. Eckerd Corp. (d/b/a Rite Aid) (No. 1:10-CV-2816-JEC (N.D. Ga., July 9, 2012)), involved Fern Strickland, a drugstore cashier with osteoarthritis […]
A nursing assistant who requested intermittent leave because of her son’s serious health condition says that her employer fired her for taking the leave after it had mistakenly told her that she could take it — and a Pennsylvania district court judge has permitted the retaliation claim to move forward. The case is Medley v. […]
Unpaid internships can be mutually beneficial for students and employers: students receive invaluable workplace experience and employers benefit from the opportunity to begin training the next generation of talent. However, you must be aware of the distinction between paid and unpaid internships. Internships in the for-profit, private sector will most often be viewed as employment […]
Managing intermittent FMLA leave has many challenges for employers, not the least of which is handling the issue of compensation for exempt employees taking such leave. Since FMLA leave is generally unpaid, yet salaried exempt employees are entitled to their salary regardless of hours worked, how should you proceed when an exempt employee takes intermittent […]
Yesterday’s Advisor clarified rules governing benefits during FMLA leave; today, recouping payments when an employee doesn’t return from leave, plus an introduction to the “FMLA Bible.” When an employee fails to return from FMLA leave, for at least 30 calendar days, the employer may demand payment of its share of the health premiums paid during […]
All employers—including public agencies—are required to maintain existing health insurance coverage under a group health plan for employees during FMLA leave, and they can require the employee on leave to pay his or her share. But that’s not always easy. Employers who provide group healthcare coverage typically require employees to pay a portion of the […]
Summer’s here, and coincidentally, it’s a hot time for legal and regulatory developments affecting human resources and benefits professionals! Many companies trying to make ends meet also should expect new laws and regulations in these five areas. The perils of not heeding leave and disability law. Employers struggle with determining what a “reasonable accommodation” is under […]
Yesterday, we looked at some of the proposed changes to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in areas relating to military leave. Today, a look at the other proposed changes, courtesy of Mark Schickman and Cathleen Yonahara, both attorneys at Freeland Cooper & Foreman LLP in San Francisco.
Employees’ rights to take unpaid leave from work to deal with their own serious health problems or those of family members received a boost in recent years with changes to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).