FMLA Archives | Employment Law | Kollman & Saucier, P.A.

Proposals Introduced For National Paid Leave Law

Clifford Geiger

03/13/2019

Congress is exploring proposals for providing workers with paid parental leave law, which is something President Trump advocated in his most recent State of the Union address. The President’s plan, outlined in his 2020 budget proposal, calls for six weeks of paid leave for new parents to recover from childbirth and bond with a new child, including an adopted child. States would develop their own paid leave plans within the framework of existing...

Kollman & Saucier

03/01/2019

FMLA

Properly handling of mental illness under employment laws remains a challenge for employers. One of the most common misconceptions is that such conditions don’t trigger protected leave. A recent Fourth Circuit case however reminds us that notice to invoke Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) benefits does not require “any magic words,” and when it doubt, it’s always best to inquire more. Hannah P. v. Coats, No. 17-1943 (4th Cir....

Kollman & Saucier

08/30/2018

FMLA, Temporary Workers, Wage & Hour, Wellness Programs

After going into hibernation during the Obama Administration, opinion letters have reemerged as part of the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division’s (WHD) efforts to guide employers seeking valuable input about legal compliance and best practices. As the DOL itself explains, these letters are “official, written opinion[s] by WHD on how a particular law applies in specific circumstances presented by the person or entity requesting the letter.” The...

Kollman & Saucier

08/24/2018

FMLA, Retaliation

Honeywell International learned the hard way a lesson that comes up regularly with employers: An employee who has had a long-standing problem with X. And X can be anything from tardiness, forgetting to clock out, violating dress code, missing regular internal filing deadlines, or some other consistent deficiency, that is frustrating and warrants discipline, yet for one reason or another (too busy, forgot, not enough staff and need to keep her...

Darrell VanDeusen

05/07/2018

Disability & Leave, FMLA

Honest belief” cases can be difficult for an employer to win on summary judgment. The concept is that, even if the employer was wrong, it honestly believed that an employee should have been fired, so there was no intent to discriminate. FMLA honest belief cases are among the most interesting. On one hand, there are lots of things an employee on FMLA leave may still be able to do while complying with the requirements of his or her leave. You...

Darrell VanDeusen

03/07/2018

FMLA

These days, it is unusual to see an appellate decision where an essential element of the claim is disputed. For example, it’s the rare Title VII case where the protected status of the plaintiff is in question (“no, your honor, we do not agree that the plaintiff has a race…”) or in a ADA case – after enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act – where the issue of whether the plaintiff has a disability is at...

Darrell VanDeusen

10/26/2017

Arbitration, FMLA

The question of whether and when an employer can compel an employee who is suing it to arbitrate her case rather than proceed in court depends upon the terms of the agreement between the parties. In Mason v. Athletic & Therapeutic Inst. of Naperville, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 173046 (S.D. Ind. Oct. 19, 2017), a federal district court told the former employee of an Indiana sports therapy clinic that arbitration is the proper forum for her...

Kollman & Saucier

06/09/2017

Employment Discrimination, FMLA, Virginia Employment Law

It is no secret that businesses today are increasingly outsourcing human resources functions in an effort to cut costs. But absent careful planning, the outsourcing employer may still bear legal liability for workplace discrimination issues. Here’s what the Fourth Circuit had to say about the subject in a case decided this week. Quintana v. City of Alexandria, et al., No. 16-1630 (4th Cir. 6/6/17). The case arose from the City of...

Kollman & Saucier

01/20/2017

FMLA

Well, you know the rest. Unfortunately, a management-level employee in Florida perhaps doesn’t. In Holtrey v. Collier County Board of County Commissioners, an employee developed a chronic and serious problem with his genito-urinary system. He consequently applied for, and was granted, leave pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave Act. In doing so, he disclosed to his employer sensitive medical information, which a management-level...

Kollman & Saucier

11/03/2016

Disability & Leave, FMLA, Virginia Employment Law

On October 31st, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a Virginia federal court's dismissal of an airline employee's FMLA retaliation claim. The case arose when United Airlines fired the employee for using intermittent FMLA leave to excuse his failure to work the one shift he was scheduled to work during a lengthy vacation. Sharif v. United Airlines, et. al., No. 15-1747 (4th Cir. 10/31/16). According to the court's...

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Proposals Introduced For National Paid Leave Law

Just Ask: Failure To Inquire Whether Mental Illness Is a Serious Health Condition Risks FMLA Liability

DOL’s Six Latest Opinion Letters Offer Useful Guidance To Employers

Yes, Really, Honeywell. You Should Not Finally Fire An Employee Who Has Been Chronically Tardy For 12 Years Only After She Files An FMLA Leave Request.

A Good Walk Spoiled: Golf Outing Sinks FMLA Claim

No Serious Health Condition? No FMLA Protection, says Eighth Circuit

Court Orders Arbitration in FMLA Termination Case

Appellate Court Rules Employee Can Sue City of Alexandria as Joint Employer Under FMLA

If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say, ...

Court Affirms Dismissal of Vacationing Employee's FMLA Claim

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Category: FMLA

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