The Family and Medical Leave Act, or FMLA, allows eligible employees to take unpaid leave for certain medical and family reasons without fear of losing their jobs and benefits. If your business has 50 or more employees, you are likely covered by this law and need to understand what it requires. A dedicated attorney can help ensure that your business follows the law and can defend you against any allegations of wrongdoing. Here, our Labor & Employment Law team offers these five tips for FMLA compliance:
Tip 1: Establish FMLA Policies and Procedures
The best way to ensure that managers, human resources professionals, and others in your organization understand the FMLA is to create policies and procedures based on the law. For instance, your policies should clearly identify who is eligible to take leave. An employee is eligible if he or she:
- Works for a covered employer
- Has worked 1,250 hours during the 12 months prior to beginning leave
- Works for a company that employs 50 or more employees within 75 miles; and
- Has worked for the employer for at least 12 months
A comprehensive policies and procedure manual will also set clear guidelines for how long leave is permitted and how exactly the employee should request it. With these rules in place, there will be less employee confusion and less risk of adverse legal action.
Tip 2: Understand the 12-Month Leave Period
In a given 12-month period, an employee is allowed to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave. However, there are different ways that the 12-month period can be calculated. For instance, it can be:
- A one-year calendar period
- A fixed 12-month period, like the anniversary of an employee’s starting date of employment
- The 12-month period that is measured forward from the date that any employee’s first FMLA leave begins; or
- A “rolling” 12-month period that is measured backward from the date an employee uses any FMLA leave
Employers can choose any of these four methods when determining the 12-month period in which leave may be used. Regardless, your business should clearly define which method it will use and stick to it. It is recommended that the 12-month period be defined in your policies and procedures handbook.
Tip 3: Identify FMLA Leave
Once you realize that an employee is using his or her FMLA leave, you must designate it as such. Even if the employee wants to use up paid time off, leave that meets the eligible FMLA criteria should be identified accordingly. This advice is based on an opinion letter issued by the Department of Labor (DOL). Although opinion letters are not binding law, employers can safely rely on them in interpreting DOL regulations.
Be consistent in how you designate FMLA leave, whether you are dealing with the same employee over a period of time or different employees in your organization. Inconsistent application of standards may open the door to a discrimination lawsuit.
Tip 4: Be Mindful of Other Federal Laws
Some employers, intent on complying with the FMLA, want an employee to be fully recovered or healed before they can return to work. The problem is that this may lead to violations of other federal laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). That’s because the ADA requires employers to make reasonable accommodations under certain conditions. Insisting on a full recovery, without accommodating the employee’s specific needs, may run afoul of the law.
Instead of focusing so heavily on an employee’s full recovery, it is a better practice to determine whether the employee can perform the essential functions of his or her job. You can discuss these functions with the worker and make reasonable accommodations where necessary under the ADA.
Tip 5: Don’t Overlook State Laws
While the FMLA provides a federal baseline for family and medical leave, states are free to establish laws that are more generous to employees, and many have done so. Massachusetts, for example, has the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) system. The biggest difference between PFML and the FMLA is in the name: PFML leave is paid.
PFML also covers many more employers than FMLA. There are other differences such as which family members the employee can take leave to care for and the process for employer and state approval. Knowing the details of PFML can save you legal headaches at the state level.
We Are Here To Guide Your Massachusetts Business
The best way to protect your business from avoidable legal problems is to consult with an experienced employment law attorney.