Paid family leave is one of the hottest topics in employment law, and various states and cities are moving to address the issue. Washington, D.C.’s City Council has proposed its own version of paid family leave with the Universal Paid Family Leave Act of 2015. The Act would offer employees 16 weeks of fully paid
Video Interview: Discussing What the Supreme Court’s Same-Sex Marriage Ruling Means for Employers
Same-sex marriage is now legal throughout the United States. Now what? Immediate changes are being made on a federal level including federal IRS tax withholdings and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to be sure that same-sex marriages are treated the same as heterosexual marriages.
The biggest change that employers need to be
What the Supreme Court’s Same-Sex Marriage Ruling Means for Employers
On Friday, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its long-awaited opinion in the Obergefell case, striking down bans on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional and legalizing same-sex marriage in every state. We posted earlier this year that a federal district court struck down Alabama’s same-sex marriage ban as unconstitutional, after which counties began issuing
Plaintiff Alleges Violation of FMLA for Being Required to Show Mastectomy Scars Before Returning to Work
In a Complaint recently filed in a Florida federal court (Andrea Santiago v. Broward Health), social worker Andrea Santiago alleged that her employer, Broward Health, violated the FMLA when it refused to waive a policy requiring employees who took FMLA leave for surgery to allow an in-house medical clinic to examine their wounds
Video Interview: Discussing the Ramifications of Extending FMLA Rights to Same-Sex Couples
On Tuesday night, the Alabama Supreme Court ordered the state’s probate judges to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Last month, a U.S. federal judge in Alabama ordered an Alabama official to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, despite Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore’s urging to probate judges to ignore the federal ruling.
Are We Being Punked? EEOC Files Disability Discrimination Claim Against Disability Services Provider
The EEOC has filed a lawsuit (EEOC v. ValleyLife, Civil Action No. 2:15-cv-00340-GMS) under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) against ValleyLife, a disability support services company in Arizona, claiming that ValleyLife has failed to reasonably accommodate its employees with disabilities. According to the complaint, ValleyLife had a policy under which an employee
Alabama’s New “I Do”: Same-Sex Marriage, the FMLA, and Employee Benefit Considerations
Alabama probate judges began issuing marriage licenses and presiding over ceremonies for same-sex couples a few days ago. The landmark occasion follows a recent ruling out of the Southern District of Alabama that struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. On Monday morning, February 9, just before the first “I do’s” were said across
You Must Be Sober For More Than A Week To Keep Your Truck Driving Job
If a commercial driver is diagnosed with chronic alcoholism, can his employer terminate him a week later because his diagnosis excludes him from performing the essential functions of his job? In Jarvela v. Crete Carrier Corp., the Eleventh Circuit said yes. Crete Carrier terminated Jarvela because of his week-old diagnosis, determining that he was
Don’t Forget That 12 Weeks Really Doesn’t Mean 12 Weeks
I frequently receive calls from clients involving an employee who is about to use up all of his available medical leave (FMLA or otherwise), but who has little chance of returning to work anytime soon. Many times, the employee has some sort of condition that the doctors cannot quite figure out or has a workplace
But Wait . . . My Workers Are Independent Contractors, Right?
Following the U.S. Department of Labor’s recent release of its Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with the Alabama Department of Labor, employers should not rest easy simply because they classify their workers as independent contractors. DOL’s Misclassification Initiative seeks to prevent, detect and remedy employee misclassification and it has entered similar agreements with 15 other