When an employee can’t return to work after an FMLA leave
The plaintiff in Demyanovich v. Cadon Plating & Coatings (6th Cir. Mar. 28, 2014) suffered from congestive heart failure. He returned...
Topic: leave management/FMLA
When an extended leave of absence is NOT a reasonable accommodation
By Jon Hyman
Conventional wisdom says that when a sick or injured employee asks for time off, you should grant it within reason . For one, the EEOC says ...
The FMLA, the ADA, and no-fault attendance policies
By Jon Hyman
A no-fault attendance policy assigns points each time an employee is absent, with corresponding levels of progressive discipline automatical...
Is an employer obligated to provide light duty to an employee returning from FMLA leave?
By Jon Hyman
Many employers use temporary light duty assignments to enable ill or injured employees to return to work before they are fully healed. In fa...
Requests for unpaid medical leaves should be stamped, “Handle With Care”
By Jon Hyman
If I had to rank questions I get from clients in order of frequency, questions on medical leaves would be near, if not at the top of, the li...
Putting the human back in human resources, redux
By Jon Hyman
As a parent of a child with some medical issues, I am very sensitive to the needs of working parents. Luckily for me, I work at business tha...
Must an employer accommodate an employee for a family member’s disability?
By Jon Hyman
A little more than year after Mindy Adams began working for Servpro, her husband was diagnosed with cancer. One week after Servpro approved ...
How long is too long for a medical leave of absence?
By Jon Hyman
Last year, I suggested that the ADA has swallowed the FMLA for employee medical leaves : The recently amended ADA is expansive enough t...
The FMLA and the honest belief rule: monitoring leave of absence abuse
By Jon Hyman
Last week, I discussed the bounds of the “honest belief rule” as a defense to a discrimination claim. Yesterday, in Seeger v. Cincinnati Be...
Resolve this year to properly handle no-fault attendance policies
By Jon Hyman
For the uninitiated, a no-fault attendance policy terminates an employee who accumulates a pre-designated number of absences, regardless of ...
Vaporizing employment laws? The results
By Jon Hyman
On Monday, I asked my readers the same question posed by Walter Olson at Overlawyered : “If I could press a button and instantly vaporize on...
Has the ADA swallowed the FMLA for employee medical leaves?
By Jon Hyman
It’s likely that by now you know that the recently amended ADA is expansive enough to cover most medical conditions . If most medical condit...
FMLA coverage vs. eligibility: Employer notice and recordkeeping requirements
By Jon Hyman
Last week, we discussed the difference between employer coverage and employee eligibility in the calculus of determining when you must prov...
When does 50 not equal 50?
By Jon Hyman
Most people think of “50” as the magic number for the FMLA. “Oh, we have 50 employees, so we now have to comply with the FMLA,” is a popula...
Do you know? H1N1 and employees’ leave rights
By Jon Hyman
The Department of Labor has published two guides for employers trying to navigate H1N1 and employees’ leave and pay rights (both PDFs): ...
Do you check on your employees’ absences?
By Jon Hyman
According to a recent survey conducted by careerbuilder.com , 32% of employees report that they played hooky from work at least one day last...
Do you know? FMLA fitness-for-duty certifications
By Jon Hyman
In a previous post, I detailed the new FMLA regulation’s eligibility notice and designation notice requirements . The FMLA also has specific...
Do you know? Handling a chronically ill employee
By Jon Hyman
In the June 19 New York Times , Lesley Alderman provided chronically ill employees some practical information on how to protect their jobs w...
New FMLA Regulations: What do they mean to notice and designation obligations to employees?
By Jon Hyman
Administration of FMLA leave probably causes more headaches for HR professionals than any other facet of their jobs. As if the FMLA is not c...
New FMLA regulations are on their way
By Jon Hyman
On October 20, the Department of Labor forwarded its final draft of new Family and Medical Leave Act regulations to the Office of Management...