The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently weighed in on the circuit-splitting debate over the proper causation standard for Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) retaliation claims. In a win for employers, the Eleventh Circuit held that the proper standard is the heightened “but-for” causation standard, rather than the “motivating factor” causation standard, leading it to affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of defendant Walgreen Co. (“Walgreens”) against plaintiff Doris Lapham (“Lapham”) on her FMLA ...
As featured in #WorkforceWednesday: This week, we break down the enforcement of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC’s) EEO-1 report filing delay, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) recent opinion on the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
It’s time for covered employers to update their Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) posters.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued an updated FLSA Minimum Wage Poster to reflect covered employers’ new lactation accommodation obligations under the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers (PUMP) Act.
On May 3, 2023, Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed into law SB 828, which amends the state’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program (the “Program”) that was originally established in April 2022. As we previously reported, the Program generally provides eligible employees with 12 (but in some cases, 24) weeks of paid leave to be used for certain covered family and medical-related absences. The Program and SB 828’s amendments—which will take effect on June 1, 2023—are nuanced, so below are five significant updates from the new legislation for Maryland employers to consider.
On November 19, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act (BBBA or the Act), [1] which, if enacted, would be the first federal enhancement of family and medical leave for private sector workers since the enactment of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in 1993. While the BBBA does not go as far as initially proposed (12 weeks of paid leave), it would expand upon the FMLA’s current unpaid protections by providing up to four weeks of paid caregiving leave. Further, the BBBA would allow paid leave benefits for a broader group of eligible workers and for additional qualifying family members beyond those covered by the FMLA. If enacted, the paid family leave program would become effective January 2024.
Beginning June 26, 2021, Pennsylvania’s Living Donor Protection Act (the “LDPA”) will provide time off to organ and tissue donors to cover time off for donation surgery, including necessary preparation and recovery.
Pennsylvania employees will be eligible for leave under the LDPA if they meet the following FMLA eligibility criteria: the employee must (1) work for a covered employer, (2) work 1,250 hours during the 12 months prior to the start of leave, (3) work at a location where 50 or more employees work or within 75 miles of it, and (4) have worked for the employer for 12 months ...
In 2019, the Connecticut legislature passed sweeping changes to the state’s existing Family and Medical Leave Act, about which we previously reported here. One of the most significant changes is that beginning in 2022, eligible employees will be entitled to paid family and medical leave. Although the paid leave requirement does not take effect until next year, there are a number of 2021 deadlines about which employers should be aware.
Website and Mandatory Employer Registration
The 2019 amendments to the PFMLA created the Connecticut Paid Leave Authority (the ...
Part 9 of a series featuring our video Rules of the Road: Return to Work in the Time of COVID-19.
If the Rules of the Road: Return to Work in the Time of COVID-19 series has given you any takeaways, it should be that it pays to be prepared, to be safe, and to anticipate workplace issues before they arise. This means taking stock of what has happened in the past year and what challenges lie ahead. There is almost nothing the pandemic has not affected in our lives, or in business and the workplace and the challenges have been daunting. Challenges have included, coping with illness, the stressors of ...
Part 5 of a series featuring our video Rules of the Road: Return to Work in the Time of COVID-19.
By now, those who have been following this series know the basics. You’ve formulated (or are in the process of formulating) a “return to work” plan, which includes, among other things, implementing policies and guidelines consistent with CDC recommendations (wear masks), as well as other best practices that most of us learned, or should have learned, by the time we were potty-trained (wash your hands), if not by the time we were in elementary school (no touching).
But once businesses ...
While the country remains focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. employers cannot ignore the ongoing opioid epidemic or how it may affect their workforces. On August 5, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) released new guidance addressing the rights of opioid users in the workplace under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”).[1] The two question-and-answer documents clarify that while current illegal drug use is not protected, employees who “are using opioids, are addicted to opioids, or were addicted to opioids in the past, but are not ...
On July 20, 2020, the Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) of the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) published new guidance for businesses reopening amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The guidance is in the form of additions to the WHD’s existing Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs” or “Guidance”) and addresses issues arising under two leave laws—the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”)—and wage and hour matters governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).
New FMLA FAQs
The WHD added the ...
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “Act”), which we detailed in a previous Advisory, requires private employers with fewer than 500 employees (“covered employers”) to provide paid sick leave (“Emergency Paid Sick Leave”) and family leave (“Public Health Emergency Leave”) for certain COVID-19 related absences and includes a tax credit for employers for the cost of the paid leave.
As covered employers prepare to meet these requirements, questions have arisen related to the payroll tax relief associated with these payments. This update addresses ...
Washington State has begun implementing its new Paid Family & Medical Leave program (“PFML”). Other states, such as New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island already have paid family and medical leave programs in place, and now Washington, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. are set to join them over the next few years. Although the benefits portion of Washington’s program does not kick in until 2020, employers’ reporting and remitting of premiums for Quarters 1 and 2 are due between July 1 and July 31, 2019.
The Washington Employment Security Department (“ESD”), which will ...
The expiration date for the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) model Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) notice and medical certification forms has once again been extended. The new expiration date is now August 31, 2018. Expiration dates are located at the top right corner of the model FMLA forms.
The DOL’s model FMLA notices and certification forms were originally due to expire on May 31, 2018, then again on June 30, 2018, and the DOL has again pushed the expiration date, now to the end of August, from the July 31, 2018 expiration date. Once approved by the Federal Office of ...
The U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) model Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) notices and medical certification forms expire on July 31, 2018. However, the new model forms have not yet been released. The current FMLA forms were originally due to expire on May 31, 2018, but the expiration date was first extended to June 30, 2018 and then to July 31, 2018.
Every three years, the DOL must obtain approval for continued use of its forms from the Federal Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”). Once the OMB approves the new model FMLA forms, they will be valid through 2021 ...
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and first daughter Ivanka Trump have teamed up to develop a paid parental leave program in the United States. While the plan is in its infancy, Senator Rubio reportedly envisions a plan similar to a proposal from the Independent Women’s Forum, calling for a parental leave program funded by new parents’ future Social Security benefits. Under that proposal, parents could receive up to 12 weeks of benefits to take paid leave at any time in the first year of their new child’s life in exchange for what the Independent Women’s Forum hopes would be six weeks of ...
In a decision that will be celebrated by employers in the Seventh Circuit struggling with employee requests for post-Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) leave as an accommodation under the American with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), the Seventh Circuit in Severson v. Heartland Woodcraft, Inc., 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 18197 (7th Cir. Sept. 20, 2017), recently held that an employer did not violate the ADA by firing an employee instead of extending his leave after he exhausted all leave under the FMLA. This holding – finding that extended long-term leave is not a reasonable ...
Employers often struggle to provide employees with their requested accommodations and to comply with disability laws while still effectively running their business. This struggle has been compounded with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s aggressive pursuit of litigation in this area in recent years. A New York federal court recently weighed in on the issue in Kelly v. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., 15 Civ. 6309 (DLC), 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43485 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 24, 2017), holding that an employer is only required to provide an employee with a “plainly ...
Technology employers should note that the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“DOL”) has just released a new Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) poster and The Employer’s Guide to The Family and Medical Leave Act (“Guide”).
New FMLA Poster
The FMLA requires covered employers to display a copy of the General FMLA Notice prominently in a conspicuous place. The new poster is more reader-friendly and better organized than the previous one. The font is larger and the poster contains a QR code that will connect the reader directly to the DOL homepage. According to ...
Financial services employers should note that the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“DOL”) has just released a new Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) poster and The Employer’s Guide to The Family and Medical Leave Act (“Guide”).
New FMLA Poster
The FMLA requires covered employers to display a copy of the General FMLA Notice prominently in a conspicuous place. The new poster is more reader-friendly and better organized than the previous one. The font is larger and the poster contains a QR code that will connect the reader directly to the DOL homepage ...
Retailers should note that the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“DOL”) has just released a new Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) poster and The Employer’s Guide to The Family and Medical Leave Act (“Guide”).
New FMLA Poster
The FMLA requires covered employers to display a copy of the General FMLA Notice prominently in a conspicuous place. The new poster is more reader-friendly and better organized than the previous one. The font is larger and the poster contains a QR code that will connect the reader directly to the DOL homepage. According to the DOL ...
Hospitality employers should note that the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“DOL”) has just released a new Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) poster and The Employer’s Guide to The Family and Medical Leave Act (“Guide”).
New FMLA Poster
The FMLA requires covered employers to display a copy of the General FMLA Notice prominently in a conspicuous place. The new poster is more reader-friendly and better organized than the previous one. The font is larger and the poster contains a QR code that will connect the reader directly to the DOL homepage. According to ...
One day before the U.S. Department of Labor’s Family & Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) same-sex spouse final rule took effect on March 27, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas ordered a preliminary injunction in Texas v. U.S., staying the application of the Final Rule for the states of Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Nebraska. This ruling directly impacts employers within the technology, media, and telecommunications industries who are located or have employees living in these four states.
Background
In United States v. Windsor, the U.S. Supreme Court ...
One day before the U.S. Department of Labor’s Family & Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) same-sex spouse final rule took effect on March 27, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas ordered a preliminary injunction in Texas v. U.S., staying the application of the Final Rule for the states of Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Nebraska. This ruling directly impacts employers within the financial industry who are located or have employees living in these four states.
Background
In United States v. Windsor, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Section 3 of the Defense ...
One day before the U.S. Department of Labor’s Family & Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) same-sex spouse final rule took effect on March 27, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas ordered a preliminary injunction in Texas v. U.S., staying the application of the Final Rule for the states of Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Nebraska. This ruling directly impacts employers within the retail industry who are located or have employees living in these four states.
Background
In United States v. Windsor, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Section 3 of the Defense of ...
One day before the U.S. Department of Labor’s Family & Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) same-sex spouse final rule took effect on March 27, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas ordered a preliminary injunction in Texas v. U.S., staying the application of the Final Rule for the states of Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Nebraska. This ruling directly impacts employers within the hospitality industry who are located or have employees living in these four states.
Background
In United States v. Windsor, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Section 3 of the ...
No software company wants to lose its best programmer for an extended period. But employers should take heed of the recent decision by the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals when considering employee requests for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. In Gordon v. United States Capitol Police, No. 13-5072 (D.C. Cir. Feb. 20, 2015), the D.C. Circuit held that an employer who discourages an employee from taking FMLA leave may be liable for an interference claim, even if that discouragement was “ineffective.” In other words, don’t bully, discourage, or make ...
Scheduling around employees taking frequent or extended leaves of absences can be complicated for retail companies looking to staff the floor during peak shopping periods. But retail employers considering requests for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act should be aware of a recent decision from the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals finding that an employee can pursue an FMLA interference claim even though she received the leave requested. In Gordon v. United States Capitol Police, No. 13-5072 (D.C. Cir. Feb. 20, 2015), the D.C. Circuit held that an employer who ...
Client service is paramount in the hospitality industry, and frequent or extended leaves of absences by employees may make providing the same level of consistent service difficult. But employers should take heed of the recent decision by the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals when considering employee requests for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. In Gordon v United States Capitol Police, No. 13-5072 (D.C. Cir. Feb. 20, 2015), the D.C. Circuit held that an employer who discourages an employee from taking FMLA leave may be liable for an interference claim, even ...
In its Agency Rule List for Spring 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed to amend the Regulations implementing the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) by revising the definition of "spouse" in light of the United States Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Windsor, No. 12-307 (U.S. June 26, 2013). In Windsor, the Supreme Court struck down the provisions of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that denied federal benefits to legally married, same-sex couples. The FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected ...
Our blog contributor Anna A. Cohen, an Associate in the Labor and Employment practice at Epstein Becker Green, was quoted in an article titled “TGI Fridays Busted for Family Leave Violations.”
Following is an excerpt:
The leave policy of TGI Fridays violates the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the popular restaurant chain has agreed to change its company-wide policy and pay one employee back wages, according to the Department of Labor (DOL).
The DOL announced the company's agreement on Aug. 7, following an investigation of a TGI Fridays restaurant in Shreveport, La. There, an ...
By: Kara Maciel and Elizabeth Bradley
On March 8, 2013, amendments to the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) take effect which change the provisions governing military caregiver leave for veterans, qualifying exigency leave for paternal care, and job-protected leave for airline personnel and flight crews.
Relevant to hospitality employers, the amendments extend the right to take military caregiver leave to eligible employees whose family members are recent veterans with serious injuries or illnesses, and expand the definition of a serious injury or illness to ...
Most employers are well versed in the FMLA requirements; however, I recently received a call from one of our hospitality clients seeking guidance on administering intermittent FMLA leave. Specifically, the hotel was seeking advice on how to manage a Housekeeping Department employee who was approved for intermittent FMLA leave and had recently increased the frequency of his days off with little or no notice of the need for leave.
Notably the FMLA and supporting regulations do not provide much guidance for employers. It is clear from the regulations ...
EBG is holding its annual NY briefing for clients and friends on Oct. 28. This full-day program will feature a special, two-hour workshop just for employers in the hospitality and retail industries, updating the many recent and significant labor and employment law developments affecting the industry. We will provide real-world guidance on how to manage the risks your company faces from increasingly aggressive plaintiffs' lawyers and government investigators who have openly and unabashedly targeted the industry.
Topics on the workshop agenda include:
- Wage and hour class ...
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