Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 10/11/2015 Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 10/11/2015 Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/20103 Overview FMLA was passed in 1993 and expanded in 2008 and 2009 It guarantees employees annual unpaid leave for — Medical reasons related to employee or a family member Birth, adoption or placement in foster care of a child Exigencies related to family member's active duty military service Caring for relative's injuries related to active-duty military service Employers must maintain health coverage for employees on leave and restore job positions when leave concludes

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/20104 Overview (cont’d) FMLA was passed in 1993 and expanded in 2008 and 2009 It guarantees employees annual unpaid leave for — Medical reasons related to employee or a family member Birth, adoption or placement in foster care of a child Exigencies related to family member's active duty military service Caring for relative's injuries related to active-duty military service Employers must maintain health coverage for employees on leave and restore job positions when leave concludes

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/20105 Overview (cont’d) FMLA was passed in 1993 and expanded in 2008 and 2009 It guarantees employees annual unpaid leave for — Medical reasons related to employee or a family member Birth, adoption or placement in foster care of a child Exigencies related to family member's active duty military service Caring for relative's injuries related to active-duty military service Employers must maintain health coverage for employees on leave and restore job positions when leave concludes

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/20106 Covered Employers Employers who must comply with FMLA: Private employers with 50 or more employees during 20 or more workweeks in calendar year Most public employers Separate businesses may be considered single "employer" for FMLA purposes When organizations merge, employees have same FMLA rights as when employed by predecessor organizations

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/20107 Covered Employers (cont’d) Employers who must comply with FMLA: Private employers with 50 or more employees during 20 or more workweeks in calendar year Most public employers Separate businesses may be considered single "employer" for FMLA purposes When organizations merge, employees have same FMLA rights as when employed by predecessor organizations

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/20108 Eligible Employees Employees are eligible for FMLA leave if — They have worked for 12 months and 1,250 hours in the 12 months before leave and There are 50 or more workers within 75 miles of employer's site Special rules added for airline flight crews 12-month period need not be continuous or consecutive All time worked for employer is counted

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/20109 Eligible Employees (cont’d) Employees are eligible for FMLA leave if — They have worked for 12 months and 1,250 hours in the 12 months before leave and There are 50 or more workers within 75 miles of employer's site Special rules added for airline flight crews 12-month period need not be continuous or consecutive All time worked for employer is counted

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Entitlement to Leave Employees are entitled to 12 workweeks of leave in 12- month period for — Birth and care of a child, or placement and care of a child with employee by adoption or foster care Care of spouse, child or parent with serious health condition When employee is unable to work because of serious health condition A qualifying exigency due to covered active duty in Armed Forces Spouse, son, daughter, parent or next-of-kin of a covered servicemember is entitled to 26 workweeks during 12-month period to care for servicemember

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Entitlement to Leave (cont’d) Employees are entitled to 12 workweeks of leave in 12- month period for — Birth and care of a child, or placement and care of a child with employee by adoption or foster care Care of spouse, child or parent with serious health condition When employee is unable to work because of serious health condition A qualifying exigency due to covered active duty in Armed Forces Spouse, son, daughter, parent or next-of-kin of a covered servicemember is entitled to 26 workweeks during 12-month period to care for servicemember

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Entitlement to Leave (cont’d) Employees are entitled to 12 workweeks of leave in 12- month period for — Birth and care of a child, or placement and care of a child with employee by adoption or foster care Care of spouse, child or parent with serious health condition When employee is unable to work because of serious health condition A qualifying exigency due to covered active duty in Armed Forces Spouse, son, daughter, parent or next-of-kin of a covered servicemember is entitled to 26 workweeks during 12-month period to care for servicemember

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Entitlement to Leave (cont’d) Employees are entitled to 12 workweeks of leave in 12- month period for — Birth and care of a child, or placement and care of a child with employee by adoption or foster care Care of spouse, child or parent with serious health condition When employee is unable to work because of serious health condition A qualifying exigency due to covered active duty in Armed Forces Spouse, son, daughter, parent or next-of-kin of a covered servicemember is entitled to 26 workweeks during 12-month period to care for servicemember

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Entitlement to Leave (cont’d) Employees are entitled to 12 workweeks of leave in 12- month period for — Birth and care of a child, or placement and care of a child with employee by adoption or foster care Care of spouse, child or parent with serious health condition When employee is unable to work because of serious health condition A qualifying exigency due to covered active duty in Armed Forces Spouse, son, daughter, parent or next-of-kin of a covered servicemember is entitled to 26 workweeks during 12-month period to care for servicemember

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Entitlement to Leave (cont’d) Employees are entitled to 12 workweeks of leave in 12- month period for — Birth and care of a child, or placement and care of a child with employee by adoption or foster care Care of spouse, child or parent with serious health condition When employee is unable to work because of serious health condition A qualifying exigency due to covered active duty in Armed Forces Spouse, son, daughter, parent or next-of-kin of a covered servicemember is entitled to 26 workweeks during 12-month period to care for servicemember

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Pop Quiz! Justin has a sister who was seriously injured while on active duty in the U.S. National Guard. Can Justin claim FMLA leave to care for his sister while she recovers? A.No, because FMLA leave only applies to spouses, parents and children — not siblings. B.No, because his sister was in the National Guard — not in Reserves C.Yes, for up to 26 workweeks of unpaid leave. D.Yes, for up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave. E.Yes, for up to 12 workweeks of paid leave.

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Spouses with the Same Employer Spouses employed by same employer are limited to — Combined 12 weeks for the birth or placement of child, or to care for family member with serious medical condition Combined 26 weeks for either — Care of servicemember or Combination of caring for servicemember and birth or placement of child or caring for family member with serious medical condition Limitations imposed on spouses for certain forms of leave apply to leave taken for that purpose

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Paid Leave FMLA does not require employers to provide paid leave, only unpaid leave As for other forms of paid leave — Employers may require employees to use accrued paid leave to cover allowable FMLA leave Employees may request to use accrued paid vacation or personal leave for time they are on FMLA leave Paid leave used in this manner counts toward 12- or 26-week leave entitlement To extent employer provides paid leave for male employees who are absent because of serious health condition, similar amount of paid leave must be provided to female employees for pregnancy or childbirth-related disabilities

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Paid Leave (cont’d) FMLA does not require employers to provide paid leave, only unpaid leave As for other forms of paid leave — Employers may require employees to use accrued paid leave to cover allowable FMLA leave Employees may request to use accrued paid vacation or personal leave for time they are on FMLA leave Paid leave used in this manner counts toward 12- or 26-week leave entitlement To extent employer provides paid leave for male employees who are absent because of serious health condition, similar amount of paid leave must be provided to female employees for pregnancy or childbirth-related disabilities

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Intermittent Leave and Reduced Schedules Employee has right to reduced schedule or intermittent leave — To care for seriously ill family member Because of employee's serious medical condition Because of qualifying exigency due to family member's active-duty military service To care for covered servicemember Employees must make a "reasonable effort" to minimize disruption of business operations Employer may transfer employee to appropriate alternative job

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Intermittent Leave and Reduced Schedules (cont’d) Employee has right to reduced schedule or intermittent leave — To care for seriously ill family member Because of employee's serious medical condition Because of qualifying exigency due to family member's active-duty military service To care for covered servicemember Employees must make a "reasonable effort" to minimize disruption of business operations Employer may transfer employee to appropriate alternative job

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Serious Health Conditions Employee may take FMLA leave only for serious health condition — For his or her own condition To care for child, parent or spouse with such condition To care for child, parent, spouse or next-of-kin who is covered servicemember Care provided for family member can be psychological or physical in nature Employers must be cautious before denying leave request because illness is not "serious" enough

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Serious Health Conditions (cont’d) Employee may take FMLA leave only for serious health condition — For his or her own condition To care for child, parent or spouse with such condition To care for child, parent, spouse or next-of-kin who is covered servicemember Care provided for family member can be psychological or physical in nature Employers must be cautious before denying leave request because illness is not "serious" enough

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Serious Health Conditions (cont’d) Employee may take FMLA leave only for serious health condition — For their own condition To care for child, parent or spouse with such condition To care for child, parent, spouse or next-of-kin who is covered servicemember Care provided for family member can be psychological or physical in nature Employers must be cautious before denying leave request because illness is not "serious" enough

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Serious Health Conditions (cont’d) Employee may take FMLA leave only for serious health condition — For their own condition To care for child, parent or spouse with such condition To care for child, parent, spouse or next-of-kin who is covered servicemember Care provided for family member can be psychological or physical in nature Employers must be cautious before denying leave request because illness is not "serious" enough

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ In the news…

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Certification Employer has right to request certification of claimed serious health condition or exigency related to military service Employer may request from employee's healthcare provider — Date condition began Duration of condition Relevant medical facts Statement that employee is unable to perform his/her job Employer can request certification in advance of date leave begins If certification is not submitted, employer may designate leave as unexcused absence or other leave

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Certification (cont’d) Employer can request second or third opinion at its expense Employer may seek clarification directly from employee's healthcare provider under certain circumstances At the end of leave, employer may require employee to provide certification that condition no longer prevents the employee from doing his/her job Employer may require employee to submit a fitness-for-duty certification before returning to work if employer has reasonable safety concerns

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Certification (cont’d) Employer can request second or third opinion at its expense Employer may seek clarification directly from employee's healthcare provider under certain circumstances At the end of leave, employer may require employee to provide certification that condition no longer prevents the employee from doing his/her job Employer may require employee to submit a fitness-for-duty certification before returning to work if employer has reasonable safety concerns

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Employer Notice Requirements Employers must provide notice to employees of FMLA rights If employee requests FMLA leave or employer realizes employee is eligible for leave, it must notify employee that — He/she is eligible for FMLA leave (or, if ineligible, give at least one reason why) He/she has rights/obligations, and consequences of not meeting obligations His/her absence is being designated as FMLA leave Employer notices may need to be provided in other language(s) Required certification forms must be included with notice

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Employer Notice Requirements (cont’d) Employers must provide notice to employees of FMLA rights If employee requests FMLA leave or employer realizes employee is eligible for leave, it must notify employee that — He/she is eligible for FMLA leave (or, if ineligible, at least one reason why) He/she has rights/obligations, and consequences of not meeting obligations His/her absence is being designated as FMLA leave Employer notices may need to be provided in other language(s) Required certification forms must be included with notice

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Employer Notice Requirements (cont’d) Employers must provide notice to employees of FMLA rights If employee requests FMLA leave or employer realizes employee is eligible for leave, it must notify employee that — He/she is eligible for FMLA leave (or, if ineligible, at least one reason why) He/she has rights/obligations, and consequences of not meeting obligations His/her absence is being designated as FMLA leave Employer notices may need to be provided in other language(s) Required certification forms must be included with notice

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Employee Notice Requirements Employees must provide information to determine if absence qualifies as FMLA leave Other employee obligations: Employee must give at least 30 days' notice, except for family member's active duty or call to active duty If leave is required earlier than anticipated, employee must inform employer as soon as possible Employee must make reasonable effort not to disrupt the employer's operations Employers may impose additional notice requirements on employees and delay/deny FMLA leave until employee complies

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Pop Quiz! Julie may need to take advantage of FMLA leave for two reasons: (1) to care for her father, Luke, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and (2) her husband Terrel may be called to active duty. Since she knows about both circumstances now, how much notice would she be required to give before taking any leave? A.Thirty days for both cases. B.Thirty days to care for Luke, but no notice is required in Terrel's case. C.Fifteen days to care for Luke, but no notice is required in Terrel's case. D.Thirty days to care for Luke, but notice that is "reasonable and practicable" in Terrel's case.

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Continuing Benefits Employees on FMLA leave continue to receive health benefits under same conditions of coverage If employees pay premiums or co-payments, obligations continue while on leave Changes to group health plan apply to employees who are on FMLA leave when changes take effect Continuing coverage only required for 12-or 26-week leave entitlement Certain benefits may not continue while employee is on FMLA leave E.g., seniority, insurance

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Pop Quiz! If an employee receives the following benefits from his or her employer before taking FMLA leave, which of these benefits must continue during and after that leave: A.Health insurance. B.Life insurance. C.Disability insurance. D.Accident insurance. E.A. and C. only. F.All of the above.

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Job Restoration Employers must give returning employees same job or equivalent one Must have same pay, benefits, working conditions, etc. Must be near same worksite and involve similar work schedule Exception for "key employees" If restoring to former position would cause substantial and serious economic injury to business, employer can refuse job restoration Employer must notify key employee who will not be restored

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Job Restoration (cont’d) Employers must give returning employees same job or equivalent one Must have same pay, benefits, working conditions, etc. Must be near same worksite and involve similar work schedule Exception for "key employees" If restoring to former position would cause substantial and serious economic injury to business, employer can refuse job restoration Employer must notify key employee who will not be restored

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ In the news…

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Other Issues Reasons to be familiar with FMLA: Knowing requirements will help minimize disruption caused by employees who take leave Violations can expose us to significant legal liability and expense FMLA interacts with other laws, including — Workers' compensation State family and medical leave laws Laws that prohibit discrimination based on disability or pregnancy Application to union members may be affected by collective-bargaining agreement

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Other Issues (cont’d) Reasons to be familiar with FMLA: Knowing requirements will help minimize disruption caused by employees who take leave Violations can expose us to significant legal liability and expense FMLA interacts with other laws, including — Workers' compensation State family and medical leave laws Laws that prohibit discrimination based on disability or pregnancy Application to union members may be affected by collective-bargaining agreement

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/11/ Other Issues (cont’d) Reasons to be familiar with FMLA: Knowing requirements will help minimize disruption caused by employees who take leave Violations can expose us to significant legal liability and expense FMLA interacts with other laws, including — Workers' compensation State family and medical leave laws Laws that prohibit discrimination based on disability or pregnancy Application to union members may be affected by collective-bargaining agreement

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 10/11/2015 Final Quiz

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 10/11/2015 Questions?

Copyright© 2010 WeComply, Inc. All rights reserved. 10/11/2015 Thank you for participating! This course and the related materials were developed by WeComply, Inc. and the Association of Corporate Counsel.