One of the hardest things about the COVID-19 crisis is that nobody is sure about when things will open back up and life can go back to “normal.” If you’re an employer, this likely means you have more questions than answers about how to move forward. What if an employee refuses to come back to
Update: The Families First Coronavirus Response Act Is Signed Into Law and Will Take Effect April 2, 2020
Wednesday afternoon, the Senate passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, and President Trump signed it into law. The act contains several provisions that will significantly impact employers with fewer than 500 employees.
If this applies to you, your obligations become effective no later than April 2, 2020 – 15 days from the date of
Do You Have a Plan for a Pandemic? Dealing with Sick, Not So Sick, and Not Even Sick Employees
The coronavirus has already had a large (some would say devastating) effect on the global economy. How will it affect the day-to-day operations of an employer? Obviously, businesses want their employees to be safe and healthy, but news stories about the spread of an infectious disease can affect a workforce in many different ways. Employers
“Open” Might Not Mean Open: How FMLA May Affect a Position’s Availability
Does a position that a company is holding for an employee out on FMLA leave an “open position” as contemplated by the Americans with Disabilities Act? In Maxwell v. Washington County, a Mississippi federal district court said the short answer is “no.”
Background
The FMLA requires a covered employer to return an eligible employee
Teach Your Children Well: DOL Issues Opinion Letter that Attending Child’s IEP School Meeting Is Covered by FMLA
If an employee asks for time off to attend a meeting at his or her child’s school, is that covered by FMLA? Maybe not but it depends on the nature of the meeting. If the child is disabled and the school meeting is for the child’s IEP, according to a recent opinion letter from the
Treat Dad Fairly, Too: JPMorgan Chase Settles Claims of Gender Bias in Parental Leave Program
In May, JPMorgan Chase entered into a class action settlement regarding allegations that it treated male employees differently than female employees under the company’s parental leave program. On its face, the terms of the program appeared to be gender-neutral: 16 weeks of paid leave for “primary caregivers” and two weeks of paid leave for “secondary
Crosstown Traffic! Facts Surrounding Employee’s ADA/FMLA Request to Avoid Bad Traffic Not Enough
Not all requests for accommodation or FMLA leave will fit into neat boxes like “pregnancy” or “knee surgery.” Because the ADA definition of a disability includes any impairment that affects a major life function, employers are starting to see some more creative requests around the margins. In Trautman v. Time Warner Cable Texas, LLC,
Your Employee Is a Victim of Domestic Violence—What Should an Employer Do?
New Zealand parliament recently passed a law granting employees 10 days of extra paid leave each year for victims of domestic violence to change their living situations and not lose their jobs. According to some U.S. statistics, one in four women and one in nine men are victims of intimate partner violence every year. This
Reunited and It Feels So Good—The DOL’s Opinion Letters Are Back (Part 2 of 3)
When Traveling Employees Are Due Compensation (Or Not)
Welcome to Part 2 of our series on the Department of Labor’s three new opinion letters. Last week, we looked at the new opinion letter on FMLA intermittent breaks. If you missed that post, you can catch up here. Next up is the travel time letter
Reunited and It Feels So Good—The DOL’s Opinion Letters Are Back (Part 1 of 3)
FMLA-Covered 15-Minute Rest Breaks Are Not Compensable
Last July, we posted on the U.S. Department of Labor’s announcement that it was reviving its practice of publishing opinion letters as guidance on wage and hour issues, which the Obama Administration halted in 2010. After leaving us all on pins and needles for months, the DOL has