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Employers with over 50 employees regularly address employees’ requests for leave under the FMLA. When the FMLA was originally enacted in 1993, the workplace looked a bit different than it does now. Most employees went to a main worksite and job applicants came to a location to apply for employment. In today’s work environment, many employees work remotely and most job applications are submitted online. Yet, employers must grapple with the FMLA’s requirements within the confines of the new, often remote, modern workforce. …

Continue Reading FMLA and the modern workforce

COVID-19 has presented employers with leave challenges not only for those currently suffering from COVID-19, but also for employees who have lingering residual symptoms, sometimes referred to as “long COVID.” While the effects of routine COVID-19 cases often have a limited impact on the workplace, more difficult accommodation issues can result from long COVID.
Continue Reading Long COVID implications under FMLA and ADA

The U.S. Senate passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”), and shortly after, President Donald Trump signed it into law. The Act will take effect no later than 15 days after its enactment. It will remain in effect until it expires under a sunset provision on December 31, 2020. This final version of the bill has some key differences from the one passed earlier in the U.S. House. But like the House bill, the final legislation does not apply to employers of 500 or more.

The FFCRA provides for expanded, paid FMLA as well as paid leave. Here are several key provisions that will have a significant impact on covered employers.…

Continue Reading President Trump signs HR 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, providing relief to some American workers

It has been a decade since the United States Department of Labor (DOL) made any changes to the FMLA regulations, but we now have an indication that the DOL is at least willing to consider issuing new regulations at some point in the next few years. The United States Office of Management and Budget announced…

In many employment cases, the parties engage in a battle over content in the plaintiff’s private social media accounts. The recent decision from the U.S. District Court in Eastern District of Michigan in Robinson v. MGM Grand Detroit, LLC, Case No. 17-CV-13128 (E.D. Mich. 1/17/2019) illustrates well how an employer can demonstrate its right…

The federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 contains an often-overlooked tax credit for employers that provide qualifying types of paid leave to their full- and part-time employees. The credit is available to any employer, regardless of size, if:

  • The employer provides at least 2 weeks of paid family and medical leave annually for employees who have been with the company for at least 12 months
  • The paid leave is at least 50 percent of the wages normally paid to the employee

The IRS has issued a set of frequently asked questions and a notice to help employers understand the tax credit, which is only available for wages paid in 2018 and 2019. The notice, entitled Notice 2018-71, is effective as of Sept. 24, 2018, and similarly only applies to wages paid in 2018 and 2019. Here are some of its highlights:…
Continue Reading New tax credit rewards companies that offer paid FMLA leave in 2018 and 2019

On Tuesday, August 28, 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) announced the issuance of six new opinion letters covering a variety of issues under the FMLA and FLSA. Specifically, the opinion letters address the following issues:

  • “No-fault” attendance policies and roll-off of attendance points under the FMLA
  • Organ donors’ qualification for FMLA leave
  • Compensability of time spent voluntarily attending benefit fairs and certain wellness activities
  • Application of the commissioned sales employee overtime exemption to a company that sells an internet payment software platform
  • Application of the movie theater overtime exemption to a movie theater that also offers dining services
  • Volunteer status of nonprofit members serving as credentialing examination graders

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Continue Reading U.S. Department of Labor issues new opinion letters covering FMLA and FLSA issues

As we previously reported in the post “The return of Department of Labor Opinion Letters,” the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) began issuing opinion letters again in mid-2017 after a six-plus-year hiatus. On April 12, 2018, the DOL issued an opinion letter, FLSA 2018-19, regarding when FMLA-mandated breaks for intermittent leave for an employee’s serious health condition are paid and when they are unpaid.
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Continue Reading New DOL opinion letter may provide clarity as to when FMLA-mandated breaks are paid and when they are unpaid

A recent case highlights the intersection of FMLA and workers’ compensation laws. Angela Samuel (Samuel) was employed by Progressive Casualty Insurance Co. (Progressive) as a retention specialist and primarily worked out of her home. While on a leave of absence covered by the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Progressive notified Samuel that she needed to submit documentation in support of her FMLA request. Previously, Samuel’s documents in support of her FMLA leave were either never received or misplaced by Progressive.

On a Sunday evening, Samuel hand-delivered the paperwork to an unattended reception desk outside of a human resources department at a building on Progressive’s campus. As she was leaving, she slipped in a stairway and fell onto her right side.…

Continue Reading Sunday deliveries of FMLA paperwork: A recipe for disaster

The federal Department of Labor (DOL) has issued an updated poster for the “Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act” poster, which is a federally required poster. The updated poster adds information on the rights of nursing mothers (to lactation breaks) under the FLSA, misclassification issues related to independent contractors and tip credits. In…