HR Solutions Blog
Home FMLA Court Cases and Clarifications
Toggle nav
FMLA Court Cases and Clarifications
No CommentsAfter more than two decades, the Family and Medical Leave Act remains one of the most misunderstood laws related to human resources. Employees don’t fully understand when it applies to them and employers aren’t sure if they’re administering it correctly. On top of that, various court cases keep tweaking the law’s interpretation.
I’ve been reading a lot about FMLA this week. If you need a refresher or just want to stay up to date, these articles and blog posts will help.
HR Won’t Like This New Ruling: FMLA Can Change Employee’s Job … Permanently. Knowledge Hub Networks: “When this worker asked his employer if he could take intermittent FMLA leave in such a way that it would permanently change the nature of his job, the employer denied his request. But then a court stepped in and said the employer didn’t have the right to do that — and you won’t like the court’s reasoning….Put another way, there is no right under the FMLA ‘to be left alone’ or be allowed to skirt the employer’s ‘discrete inquiries.’ But if looks like work, it’s gonna be work, and an employee shouldn’t be doing work while on FMLA leave.”
Employer Requires Employee to Work During FMLA Leave. Ummmm, Is This a Problem? FMLA Insights: “Joan then sued Genon, claiming that the 20-40 hours worked during her FMLA leave constituted FMLA interference, which she claimed entitled her to a slew of damages. Joan’s lawsuit raised the age-old question many of my clients have raised with me: If I ask my employee to perform any work while they are on FMLA leave, does it constitute FMLA interference?”
Examining Return-To-Work Issues Under The FMLA. JD Supra: “According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, employers absolutely must consider leave extensions, whether they involve FMLA leave or any other company leave. This is because the EEOC and many courts consider a leave extension a ‘reasonable accommodation’ under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The EEOC’s enforcement guidelines specifically state that ‘if an employee with a disability needs additional unpaid leave as a reasonable accommodation, the employer must modify its “no-fault” leave policy to provide the employee with the additional leave.’ The guidance also states that an employer must hold an employee’s job open unless the company can prove that it is an ‘undue hardship’ under the ADA.”
FMLA: What Managers Need to Know. Business Management Daily: “What counts as a ‘serious’ health condition? The law allows FMLA leave only for ‘serious’ health conditions to prevent employees from using it for colds and headaches. But there’s no precise list of conditions that qualify as ‘serious’ conditions. Basically, the law defines a ‘serious condition’ as one that requires inpatient hospital care or a three-day incapacity requiring continuing treatment from a doctor. That can include anything from a stroke to severe arthritis. And it includes incapacity due to chronic conditions like asthma and diabetes.”
Am I Eligible for a Bonus While I’m on FMLA Leave? NOLO: “Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), an employee who takes leave is entitled to be reinstated to the same job, with the same pay and benefits, upon returning to work. This includes the right to collect any bonuses that the employee would have earned had he or she not taken FMLA leave. When a bonus is performance-based, your employer cannot count your time off under the FMLA against you in deciding whether you earned the bonus. In other words, your employer can only look to the time that you were at work in deciding whether you qualify. For example, if your employer gave bonuses to employees with 100% attendance, you would be eligible for the bonus if you had no absences from work prior to your FMLA leave.”
Contact us if you need help understanding FMLA and training your managers to apply it appropriately.
HR Solutions is a human resources outsourcing firm based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We eliminate human resources headaches for businesses with 10 to 1,000 employees by handling their payroll, employee benefits, regulatory compliance and other staffing needs. Contact us to learn how we can streamline your company’s human resources function to save money and reduce risk.
