http://www.infinisource.net/Rss/FMLA.ashx FMLA - News & Review 10 In late December 2009, President Obama signed into law the Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act, which should make it easier for airline flight crews to qualify for FMLA leave. ../Infinisource/Article.aspx?articleId=344d3dad-a525-45cf-9f33-bdb6e8eec03d Wednesday, January 06, 2010 Last year, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) provided two additional military-related reasons for FMLA leave: qualifying exigency leave and caregiver leave for a seriously injured or ill covered servicemember. In late October, a new law by the same name (the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2010) further expands FMLA by broadening those military-related FMLA reasons. ../Infinisource/Article.aspx?articleId=ecb7cf1f-c58b-487f-be49-c409373e6dd6 Wednesday, November 04, 2009 FMLA administration has never been more challenging that it is today. Two recent cases demonstrate the variety of issues that an employer faces in managing this difficult law. ../Infinisource/Article.aspx?articleId=ee603d7c-36b4-4686-bbcf-2bda0b432273 Wednesday, October 07, 2009 Leaves of absence can be granted for a variety of reasons. Some employers have a single policy for all types of leave; others have a general policy statement on leaves; still others have separate policies for various leaves; and some merely make it up as they go. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) has strict requirements for family, medical and military-related leaves of absence. ../Infinisource/Article.aspx?articleId=9356cc6e-7e27-452a-9b94-556fa7f4e8fc Wednesday, August 05, 2009 The expression “the pen is mightier than the sword” means that words and communication are more powerful than wars and fighting. For one former employee, her pen meant she was communicating on behalf of her doctors, resulting in an FMLA war with her former employer. ../Infinisource/Article.aspx?articleId=b5a8a078-051d-44cd-84d6-c6ef5120d265 Wednesday, June 03, 2009 To allow FMLA or not – that is the question. Not part of a Shakespeare play, but rather real life drama for an employer in a Pennsylvania federal court, which doubled a jury’s verdict for failure to “take affirmative steps to ascertain the requirements of the law” evidenced by a lack of “good faith” regarding an FMLA request. ../Infinisource/Article.aspx?articleId=d931af34-cfaa-451c-9af0-16c54b465d08 Wednesday, March 04, 2009 Employers now have less than 45 days to digest the Final FMLA Regulations and put more than 200 pages into practice. These regulations, issued by the Department of Labor (DOL) on November 17, 2008, go into effect on January 16, 2009. ../Infinisource/Article.aspx?articleId=5d40cee2-c543-44f5-bb4b-9b2bed62c2b6 Thursday, December 11, 2008 Sherlock Holmes accomplished great feats of detective work in his day. A court recently concluded that employers do not have to go to similar lengths in determining whether an employee’s sickness constitutes a serious health condition that would trigger FMLA leave. ../Infinisource/Article.aspx?articleId=95ff84d2-4388-4de6-9dbf-25311c80b714 Tuesday, October 14, 2008 A store known for keeping costs around a dollar was hit hard with an FMLA verdict for retaliation. In the end, Dollar General’s wrongful employment termination cost $73,942.68 – more than just a dollar for this “dollar” convenience store. ../Infinisource/Article.aspx?articleId=72f61a31-5e77-481b-a3a8-1d3bba78f922 Tuesday, September 16, 2008 Millions of employees use FMLA each year, and the law provides them with many rights that can be asserted in a lawsuit. This puts employers in the hot seat, often without clear guidance to steer them through the FMLA maze. ../Infinisource/Article.aspx?articleId=ea19fb36-7fbb-4dfc-aaf4-58a27014e885 Tuesday, June 10, 2008 Millions are awarded each day in courtrooms over a multitude of disputes. Not many of those encompass such a large amount for damages, such as the FMLA case won by Nicholas Lore, a former Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corp. (Chase) regional manager. A federal jury awarded $2.2 million to Lore for violations under FMLA. ../Infinisource/Article.aspx?articleId=584200d8-f2b5-4b91-b5ee-182e686e1e21 Monday, May 12, 2008 From time to time, Infinisource submits comments on proposed federal or state benefit regulations that affect employers. Already in 2008, we are commenting on two such rules. ../Infinisource/Article.aspx?articleId=f235728c-ec69-4590-91ac-ea05e04465ef Tuesday, April 15, 2008 ../Infinisource/Article.aspx?articleId=22cbfc7b-5866-41bc-86d8-a844d734085f Tuesday, March 11, 2008 ../Infinisource/Article.aspx?articleId=70c0e02a-4443-46dc-8e8a-57f0185dc0bd Monday, February 11, 2008 Opening more than 15,000 pieces of mail is an experience few of us, other than celebrities and the proverbial Santa Claus, will ever experience. That is what the DOL did in reviewing responses to its Request for Information on FMLA after the February deadline. ../Infinisource/Article.aspx?articleId=d5964779-466b-48fc-aa80-ffc531cc2d22 Monday, July 09, 2007 Reviewing FMLA case law is a little like playing Monday morning quarterback. One analyzes mistakes and ponders what might have been. Thus, it is refreshing to find a case where an employer took a firm stand on FMLA, based on thorough policies and excellent documentation, and prevailed. ../Infinisource/Article.aspx?articleId=31085f43-15d5-4148-9dd4-2e5c92034f19 Monday, June 11, 2007 How many times have you told yourself "I should have seen that coming." When it comes to FMLA, employers need to exercise ample foresight in notifying employees about the availability of FMLA. ../Infinisource/Article.aspx?articleId=9f4c7e0c-5402-4c92-aa47-4c83eb4fce7e Monday, May 07, 2007 "Be careful what you ask for–you might get it." This famous quotation was in evidence when the Department of Labor (DOL) requested input on its 1995 FMLA regulations. The DOL mailbox overflowed with more than 15,500 comments by its February deadline. ../Infinisource/Article.aspx?articleId=ae080f5c-9ef6-4284-9432-47c67cc239db Monday, March 12, 2007 The DOL recently issued some startling statistics and a call for help related to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). In 2005, more than 94 million Americans worked in FMLA-covered worksites and more than 6.1 million (6.5%) took FMLA leave. For an employer at the 50-employee threshold, that translates into an average of three-four FMLA leaves per year. ../Infinisource/Article.aspx?articleId=2b946bf0-c91e-4f63-a9d5-06a80fadb29b Tuesday, January 09, 2007