FMLA Compliance

Complete Seminar Details

Program Description:

FMLA disputes are among the Top 5 issues that land companies in the courtroom. It’s been a big part of HR departments for ten years now and it has only grown in importance. The number of requests for FMLA leave has risen dramatically. The number of employees affected by it has increased. Are you prepared?

Are your employees taking advantage of intermittent leave?

The concept of intermittent FMLA leave is great for your employees. But it’s also confusing. How can you be certain an employee is using intermittent leave fairly and not taking advantage of your company? Can you be sure, if you deny an employee intermittent leave, that your company won’t be sued or dragged into court?

Our expert HR trainer will shed light on the murky history of intermittent leave. You’ll get perfect clarity on the different types of leave your employees can take and what qualifies for each one. After you leave this program, you’ll never have to wonder again if you’ve made the correct decision.

Do you really know FMLA as well as you should?

Have you ever felt unsure of the steps you needed to take when an employee requested leave? Felt frustrated by an employee who you thought might be taking advantage of intermittent leave time? Wondered if you owed an employee on leave a bonus? FMLA is an extensive and often confusing law. Is it any wonder you find yourself second-guessing your decisions?

In just six short hours, we’ll catch you up on months of FMLA research, clarify the “gray areas” of FMLA eligibility for each and every one of your employees, and determine exactly which medical conditions can be granted leave under the confusing triangle of FMLA, ADA, and Workers’ Comp.

Deny leave? Approve leave? Get rid of the confusion

More than any other regulation, act, or rule, FMLA affects your employees on a personal level. When your employees come to you for approval of FMLA time, they are likely facing a life-changing event – be it an illness, a death in the family, a new child, an injury, or the care of a parent, among others.

Sometimes “no” is the only answer you can give – legally. But you want to be 100 percent sure that you’re denying leave based on facts, not hunches. Or, conversely, approving leave based on facts, not on an emotional employee’s pleas. The only way to protect your company from potential legal backlash is to let the law guide you. That’s what this FMLA Compliance training will do for you … get you up-to-date on the facts in just one day.

What You'll Learn:

• If you have an employee on certified intermittent Family Medical Leave, can you request a doctor’s note for each intermittent absence?
• If a person misses two or more days a week, can the employer ask (in recertification) if the pattern of absence is common for the condition that was previously certified?
• Does FMLA apply to temporary staffing companies?
• Can a company require that an employee use all PTO time while on FMLA?
• Does state law trump federal law if a state allows leave for domestic partners?
• What are “eligible weeks” based on?
• Can you discuss FMLA in a union environment? Are there special considerations?
• Is it okay if your FMLA policy does not allow employees to accrue PTO during Family Medical Leave?
• Do we have to allow employees on intermittent leave to take time off in less than half-day increments?
• Does the 381 form need to be filled out each time a child is sent home from day care because the health-care provider required it? No matter the length of the intermittent leave?
• Are migraines considered under the ADA?
• If medical certifications have insufficient information, do you have to go back to the employee or can you go to the employee’s doctor?
• Does an employer have to grant intermittent FMLA to every employee who asks for it?

If you weren’t absolutely confident that you had the correct answers to the questions above, you can’t afford to miss this workshop. In just one day, you’ll get the answers to all of your important FMLA questions from a qualified instructor.

Who Should Attend?

Workshop Agenda:

• The top ten mistakes made when dealing with FMLA and how to avoid them
• How FMLA relates to state laws and federal discrimination laws
• How you can accurately determine who is an eligible employee
• Special rules for specific employee groups — is your company exempt?
• How to untangle the knot caused by having two spouses working for your company

Know Your Company’s Rights Under FMLA

• Why it’s harder than ever to determine what a “serious health condition” is and what the courts are saying about it
• “Rolling year,” “leave year,” “12-month period”? Aren’t they the same under FMLA?
• Court decisions about the expanded rights for unmarried domestic partners
• Medical certifications your employees must provide to protect YOUR rights as an employer
• Actions you must take when an employee fails to satisfy certification requirements that won’t irreparably damage the work relationship

The Complex — and Often Confusing — Relationship Between FMLA, ADA, and Workers’ Comp

• Identifying where each law overlaps the others and which one takes precedent
• How the EEOC definition of “reasonable accommodation” could conflict with the ADA-FMLA-Workers’ Comp triangle
• How to bring an employee back to work and comply with the ADA (reasonable accommodation), FMLA (physician’s release notice), and Workers’ Comp (light or modified duty) without violating his or her rights under any of the three

Crossing Your FMLA “T’s” and Dotting Your “I’s” Safely and Legally

• How to correctly figure paid and unpaid leave
• How FLSA’s “pay docking” policy affects your employees
• Keeping track of the accrual of employee benefits during leave time
• Health Benefits and FMLA leave (COBRA, ERISA, etc.)
• Times you can be held personally liable for

FMLA violations Maintaining Total FMLA Compliance at All Times

• What you need to do when forced to terminate an employee on leave
• How to reinstate employees on leave and the exemption for highly compensated employees
• What exactly constitutes an “equivalent position” under FMLA?
• What you can legally do when your employee fails to return from leave
• A layman’s guide to the legal repercussions and penalties for noncompliance of FMLA regs

Special Section: FMLA & Intermittent Leave

• FMLA leave types: continuous, reduced- schedule, intermittent leave
• Documenting intermittent leave under FMLA
• Tracking intermittent leave
• Rolling 12 weeks — not annual 12 weeks: time off parameters under FMLA

Sponsor Background:

Besides offering a full range of training skills to all professional levels through our one-day and two-day seminars and conferences, we also offer highly-acclaimed books, audiocassette, videocassette and CD-ROM training products for individuals, teams, departments or corporate reference libraries.

Since 1991, our affiliation with Rockhurst University, a highly acclaimed four-year university, ensures our commitment to providing lifelong continuous-learning opportunities. We're certain the combination of continuing education with academic excellence gives you the best and most innovative approach to fulfill your continuing education needs.

Cancellation Policy:

If you cannot attend a workshop for which you are registered, you may send a substitute or receive a credit memo toward a future workshop. If you cancel your registration up to five business days before the workshop, your registration fee will be refunded less a $10 enrollment charge.