The Ohio Supreme Court recently held that pregnant employees must only be treated the same as all other employees under an employer’s leave policy and can be terminated while on a pregnancy-related leave pursuant to a neutral policy.
Continue Reading Ohio Supreme Court Decision Allows Employers to Refuse Maternity Leave to and Terminate Employees who Have Not Met the Length of Service Requirements of the Employer’s Leave Policy

Even in the face of an undisputed national workforce reduction, in a recent decision (Cutcher v. Kmart), the Sixth Circuit found an issue of disputed fact existed as to whether Kmart’s termination of an hourly associate as part of a reduction in force interfered with and was in retaliation for that associate’s recent exercise of her FMLA rights.
Continue Reading Lessons Learned for Performance Appraisals and RIFs from the Sixth Circuit in Cutcher v. Kmart

On Monday, February 1, 2010, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its budget for the 2011 fiscal year. In a 95-page summary of the new budget, the DOL elaborated upon its plans for the approximately $14 billion it seeks in discretionary budget authority. From our perspective, the two most notable aspects of the 2011 budget are its provisions concerning employer misclassification of workers and paid family leave.
Continue Reading Recently Released DOL Budget Makes Worker Misclassification and State Paid Leave Priorities for the Next Fiscal Year

The much-publicized COBRA subsidy contained in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), commonly known as the “stimulus bill,” has been extended and expanded by Congress through House Resolution 3326. Under ARRA, individuals who were involuntarily terminated and became eligible for COBRA benefits between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009 were eligible for 9 months

CBC News in Canada is reporting that a Canadian long-term disability insurance carrier recently terminated the long-term disability benefits a Quebec woman was receiving for "major depression" after photos she posted on her Facebook page showed her "having a good time at a Chippendales bar show, at her birthday party and on a sun holiday."

The Family and Medical Leave Act has undergone yet another expansion. On October 27, 2009, President Obama signed H.R. 2647, known as the "Fiscal Year 2010 National Defense Authorization Act.” This new law comes on the heels of new FMLA rights that were just drafted at the end of 2008 for employees with family members serving in

As concerns about the potential scope of the H1N1 flu continue to grow, one question we keep hearing from clients is whether employees who believe they have contracted H1N1 in the workplace may have compensable workers’ compensation claims. In the vast majority of cases, we believe the answer will be a resounding “No.”
Continue Reading How Should the Ohio BWC and Industrial Commission Treat Claims for H1N1?

Concerns about H1N1 Influenza are beginning to creep back into everyone’s consciousness as summer is drawing to a close. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has issued updated guidance for businesses and employers, which can be found at:

CDC Guidance for Businesses, Employers, and Workplaces to Plan and Respond to 2009 H1N1 Influenza

On May 18, 2009, Representative Rosa L. DeLauro, a Democrat from Connecticut, introduced the Healthy Families Act of 2009 (H.R. 2460) in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill, which is largely the same as bills issued in prior sessions of Congress, would require employers with more than 15 employees to provide workers with up to 56 hours of paid sick leave each year.
Continue Reading Healthy Families Act of 2009 Introduced in Congress