Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Question: One of our employees is on intermittent Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave. She’s gotten sick and claims it’s unrelated to her reasons for being on FMLA leave. Can we include these days in her FMLA time and have them go unpaid? Answer: No. Unless you have reason to believe she’s being untruthful, […]
Q: One of our employees has been arrested but not convicted. It doesn’t appear he’s going to be released in the near future. Is it better to put him in an unpaid “leave” status or fire him? A: Whether an employee who has been arrested should be terminated or placed on unpaid leave depends on the […]
When an employee comes to you with a proposed job modification to accommodate a health condition, consider the requested accommodation. But remember: You can offer a different accommodation that addresses the employee’s health condition but doesn’t pose the operational challenges the employee’s requested accommodation would cause. That’s the route UPS took with one of its […]
The town of Kingston didn’t violate the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or state disability discrimination laws when it decided not to reappoint an employee on FMLA leave to her position after her predetermined term expired, the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Massachusetts employers) recently ruled, upholding a lower court’s opinion. […]
About 10% of Americans have experienced drug addiction at some point in their lives. If one of your employees is struggling with this disease, you might be tempted to fire him or her.
All of us are facing the uncertainty and burdens of dealing with COVID-19’s impact on the workplace. One issue revolves around when employees have good cause to abandon their jobs because of the risks created by the virus. The Arkansas Court of Appeals recently addressed the question and sided with the employee.
Administering different types of paid and unpaid leave can be tricky, especially because so many of them overlap. There are legal ramifications to getting it right in many cases, but there are also risks to employee morale and turnover if you get it wrong. This goes for paid time off (PTO), the Family and Medical […]
As the next generation of professionals enters the workplace and the job market tightens, employers are rolling out new benefits and finding more creative ways to attract and retain employees. Things like “pawternity leave” are gaining traction. Implementing new pet-supportive benefits in this uncharted territory requires careful consideration.
Does your organization offer parental leave beyond the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? Do you offer paid parental leave? Are your parental leave options available for both mothers and fathers?
Recently, the New Hampshire House of Representatives passed (by a narrow five-vote margin) House Bill 628, which would create a voluntary family and medical leave insurance (FMLI) program.