Agenda

Overview of Leave Law Compliance in Your Organization

• Overview
  
• The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
  
• State Family and Medical Leave Laws
  
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
  
• State Workers’ Compensation Statutes
  
• Miscellaneous Federal and State Laws Affecting Leave
  
• Ten Steps to Leave Law Compliance

FMLA—Basic Employer Requirements, Coverage, and Employee Eligibility

• Basic Requirements of the FMLA
  
• Employer Coverage
  
• Employee Eligibility Requirements

Leave Circumstances

• The Leave Requirement
  
• Reasons for Leave
  
• Serious Health Conditions—Definitions
  
• Types of Leave: Reduced, Regular, and Intermittent Leave
  
• Calculating and Tracking the 12-Week Limit
  
• Special Rules for Spouses Employed by the Same Employer
  
• Birth of a Child: Special Requirements and Exceptions
  
• Adoption or Foster Placement: Special Requirements and Exceptions

Requests for Leave: Leave Notice and Medical Certification

• Basic Requirements
  
• Employee Notice of Intent to Take Leave
  
• Recourse When Employee Doesn’t Provide Appropriate Notice
  
• Medical Certification
  
• Inquiry Into Employee Status and Intent

Pay and Benefits During Leave

• Overview
  
• Substitution of Paid Leave for Unpaid Leave
  
• Designating Leave as FMLA Leave
  
• Pay Docking
  
• Health Care Benefits
  
• Non-Health Care Benefits

Return from Leave

• Job on Return from Leave: Exceptions to Return; Benefits on Return
  
• Restoration to Same or Equivalent Position
  
• Benefits on Return
  
• Six Reasons to Deny Reinstatement
  
• Key Employees
  
• Employer’s Right to Demand Return to Work—Medical Certificate
  
• Employer’s Recovery of Premiums Paid During FMLA Leave

Notices, Recordkeeping, and Enforcement

• Overview
  
• Posting Notice
  
• FMLA Policy
  
• Notice to Employees Who Request Leave
  
• Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements
  
• Prohibited Acts
  
• Enforcement
  
• Remedies for Violations

Special Rules for Educational Agencies

• Provisions to Minimize Disruption
  
• Definitions
  
• Employer Coverage
  
• Employee Eligibility
  
• Intermittent and Reduced Leave
  
• Leave for Instructional Employees Near End of Term
  
• Special Rules on Reinstatement
  
• Reduced Liability

Interaction of the FMLA with State Family and Medical Leave Laws

• Which Law Takes Precedence?
  
• Test Your Knowledge—Which Law Applies?
  
• State FML Laws

State FMLA Laws: Quick Reference Chart

Introduction to the ADA

• Title I of the ADA: Employment Discrimination
  
• Title II of the ADA: Public Services
  
• Title III of the ADA: Public Accommodations
  
• Title IV of the ADA: Telecommunications
  
• Title V of the ADA: Miscellaneous Provisions
  
• Complying with the ADA: 10 Steps to Take

ADA Employer Coverage and Employee Eligibility

• Employers Covered by the ADA
  
• Individuals Covered by the ADA
  
• Defining the Term ‘Disability’
  
• The First Prong: Having an Impairment That Substantially Limits a Major Life Activity
  
• Identifying a Physical or Mental Impairment
  
• What Is Not an ‘Impairment’?
  
• Is a Major Life Activity Substantially Limited?
  
• Substantially Limited in Working
  
• Having a ‘Record of an Impairment’
  
• Being Regarded As Disabled
  
• When the Definitions Overlap
  
• Individuals with Disabilities Must Also Be ‘Qualified’

Reasonable Accommodation

• ‘Reasonable Accommodation’: What Does It Mean?
  
• Some Basic Principles of Reasonable Accommodation
  
• Who Must Be Accommodated
  
• Documenting the Need for Accommodation
  
• Choosing a Reasonable Accommodation
  
• Examples of Reasonable Accommodations
  
• Special Note: Accommodating Psychiatric Disabilities
  
• Financial Assistance for Accommodations
  
• Limiting the Duty to Accommodate: Undue Hardship
  
• Collective Bargaining Conflicts

Employment Practices and the ADA

• Specific Forms of Discrimination
  
• Preemployment Inquiries
  
• Employment Entrance Examinations/Preemployment Physicals
  
• Background and Reference Checks
  
• Withdrawing a Conditional Job Offer
  
• Inquiries and Examinations of Employees
  
• Drug Testing
  
• Psychiatric Exams
  
• Voluntary Wellness and Health Screening Programs
  
• Confidentiality of Information Obtained in Medical Examinations or Inquiries of Employees
  
• Does an Employer Have Any Defenses?

Leave Circumstances and the ADA

• Paid or Unpaid?
  
• How Much Leave Is Reasonable?
  
• Benefits Affected by Leave
  
• Modified or Part-time Schedules
  
• Flexible Leave Policies
  
• Modifying No-Fault Attendance Policies
  
• Alternatives to Granting Leave

ADA Leave Notice and Medical Certification

• Requesting Leave as a Reasonable Accommodation
  
• Medical Certification
  
• Circumstances in Which an Employer Cannot Ask for Documentation

ADA—Return from Leave

• Requests for Indefinite Leave
  
• Holding Jobs Open During Leave
  
• Medical Exams for Returning Workers

ADA Resource Directory

Workers’ Compensation—The No-Fault Remedy for Work Injury and Illness

• Overview
  
• Workers’ Comp Laws

Workers’ Compensation Coverage

• Coverage
  
• Exceptions to Coverage: Intentions, Actions

Obtaining Workers’ Compensation Coverage

• Obtaining Insurance

Benefits, Injuries, Illness

• Benefits
  
• Categories of Injury or Illness

Claims

• Filing a Claim
  
• Return to Work

Other Issues and Trends

• FMLA and Alternate Duty
  
• ADA and Alternate Duty
  
• Postings
  
• Records
  
• Retaliation
  
• Product Liability and Workers’ Compensation
  
• Disability Plans
  
• Repetitive Motion Injuries
  
• Occupational Illnesses
  
• Hearing Loss
  
• AIDS
  
• Fraud
  
• Safety Programs
  
• Directory of State Agencies

Miscellaneous Leave Provisions

• Court Appearance, Jury Duty, Military Service, and Voting
  
• Federal Laws Regarding Leave for Court Appearance, Jury Duty, Military Service, and Voting
  
• State Laws Regarding Leave for Court Appearance, Jury Duty, Military Service, and Voting

Interaction of FMLA with Other Federal Laws and with Workers’ Compensation Statutes

Overview

• The Pregnancy Discrimination Act and FMLA
  
• COBRA and FMLA
  
• ERISA and FMLA
  
• FLSA and FMLA
  
• Interaction Between the FMLA, the ADA, and Workers’ Compensation Statutes
  
• FMLA/Workers’Compensation Interplay Practice Tips
  
• Interplay Between ADA/FMLA/Workers’ Compensation Laws

Policies & Forms

• General Policy Issues Related to FMLA
  
• The Project Plan
  
• General Provisions to Be Included in a Policy
  
• Specific Policy Decisions
  
• A Special Issue—Sick Leave and Absenteeism
  
• Leave Banks
  
• Sample Family and Medical Leave Policy #1 (Long Form)
  
• Sample Family and Medical Leave Policy #2 (Short Form)
  
• Conditions for the Taking of Leave
  
• Procedure
  
• Benefit Continuation
  
• Restoration to Former or Equivalent Position
  
• Intent to Fully Comply with All State or Local Leave Laws
  
• Instructions to Supervisors on Company Obligations Under the FMLA
  
• Policy on Life-Threatening Diseases and Disabilities
  
• Employee’s Acknowledgment of Receipt and Review of Employer Leave Policies
  
• Family and Medical Leave Request Form
  
• Employer Response to Employee Request for Family or Medical Leave—U.S. Department of Labor
  
• Certification of Health Care Provider—U.S. Department of Labor
  
• Statement of Family Relationship
  
• Notice to Employer of Changes in Leave Plans
  
• FMLA Leave Periodic Status Report
  
• FMLA Tracker Form 1A
  
• FMLA Tracker Form 1B
  
• FMLA Tracker Form 2A
  
• FMLA Tracker Form 2B
  
• Fitness for Duty Certification
  
• Key Employee Notification
  
• Time Off for Elections
  
• Jury and Witness Duty Leave Sample Policy
  
• Sample Policies on Leave Banks

Policies & Forms

• FMLA Reguired Posting Notice
  
• FMLA Fact Sheet–DOL
  
• Full Text of the FMLA
  
• FMLA Regulations
  
• Federal Circuits and Included States
  
• DOL Opinion Letters Indexed by Topic
  
• DOL Opinion Letters Indexed by Opinion Numbers