The Family Medical Leave Act ( Fmla )

Some of the disadvantages that the employer faces are not being able to predict when employees will be taking FMLA leave, causing them to make last minute changes to work schedules and the understanding of what is considered to be a serious illness. A recent survey reported by Ioma, a leading business management organization, states that the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that 68% of organizations have experienced challenges in administering medical leave under the FMLA. These challenges include:

Employers are limited to what they are allowed to ask and employees are allotted time off before being required to provide medical documentation supporting their request for leave. These gaps in detail in the documentation of the Family Medical Leave Act are giving dishonest employees an opportunity to obtain time off without any due explanation. Sue Sumler from the Manufacturers' Alliance/MAPI explains the problems caused by a vague definition of serious health condition. "Because the definition of a 'Serious Health Condition' is vague, almost any¬one can find a physician to certify that they have a chronic condition that meets the definition. Many of this company's intermittent leaves are for migraine headaches. The physician certifies that migraines may occur at any time. Some employees approved for leave for migraine headaches miss four-five days a month and more. For some, it appears that FMLA has given them an extra 60 days off work."

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) was created to help assist employees deal with the difficulties of home, while creating an atmosphere of job security. The FMLA also helps cover employers from wrongful use of the FMLA by the employees. Although the document is extensive, there are three major provisions of the FMLA that apply to the given situation. The FMLA entitles covered employees to unpaid work leave, provides job and benefit restoration, and allows employers to require notice and certification for leave ("Family and medical leave act," 2007).

The Family and Medical Leave Act sets regulations for job-protected leave related to family and medical reasons. FMLA applies to organizations with 50 or more employees working within 75 miles of the employee’s worksite (“Employment Laws,” n.d., para. 6). Employees who have been with their current employer for 12 months and who have worked 1250 hours of service in the previous 12 months are eligible for 12 weeks of unpaid leave through FMLA (“Eligibility Requirements,” Revised 2013). FMLA covers the following leave reasons:

The balancing act of family and work can be very difficult at times. At some point in everyone’s life, he or she will need to take time off of work to deal with family matters. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 was created to help employees find a balance between the challenging demands of work and home. This Act allows eligible workers that require time off for personal reasons or family emergencies up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave.

In 1993, the FMLA act, which serves the needs of families trying to balance work life and the needs of the families their working for, was established. This act was amended on October 8th, 2009 to extend entitlement rights of military caregivers.

I would recommend Company X create a policy that documents FMLA procedures and clarifies what to expect while on leave (salary and benefits).

An employee took time off due to his wife giving birth prematurely. His requested time off was approved by his original manager as the employee qualified for FMLA since he has been with the company for two years and was for the care of his spouse. Under (1)”FMLA rules certain employees can be provided up to 12 weeks unpaid, job-protected leave per year. The employee must work for the company at least 12 months, have at least 1250 hours during the 12 months and the where the employee work, the company must employ at least 50 employees within 75 miles”.

Some history on the case, Francis started working with Elsevier in 1991. The role of his employment was that of a production assistant. After a while, he was rehired after a company restructuring in which his new position was that of an associate database publishing editor. The main problem of the case concerns his wife's condition, amytrophic lateral sclerosis. Due to her condition he considered his potential rights under the Family Leave Act with a human resources representative from the company. A boss change led to him being interviewed with a new supervisor where he discussed his wife's condition. Shortly after he was dismissed. "Randall Francin had worked at Mosby, Inc., for twelve years before his wife was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (LouGehrig's disease). "(Cross & Miller, 540) I believe if Francin's wife's condition was not discussed his performance would not have come into question. From the evidence presented especially after the appeal, I believe he was unlawfully terminated considering the close timing of his dismissal after it was known of his wife's condition.

As described on Facts About Age Discrimination (2008), the ADEA provides protection against age discrimination for both applicants and employees during the hiring and employment termination process. For employees the ADEA protects against age being a factor in opportunities for promotion, assignment of benefits and selection for layoffs. With few exceptions the ADEA prohibits employers from including age as a criterion when advertising or posting notice for available jobs. The ADEA explicitly protects “whistleblowers” against retaliation as a result of filing an age discrimination

The site offers a comprehensive look at health and benefits regulations. After reviewing this site, employers should have a good understanding of mandatory benefits and benefits regulations. First, this paper described the major features of the website and how each feature can be used to monitor employee benefits. Key features included links to critical benefits information and streamlined functionality that enabled quick access to pertinent information. Second, the paper explained how employers could verify that their employee benefits comply with all federal laws by using this resource. Important benefits regulations that employers can review on the website for compliance include ERISA, COBRA, HIPAA, ACA, and FMLA. Third, the paper described how employees can use this information to ensure their benefits rights are protected. Employees can review the “Consumer Information on Health Plans” subtopic provided by EBSA, review ERISA, and report noncompliance to the DOL hotline in order to protect their benefits rights. Last, the paper provided a detailed outline of the Health Plan and Benefits

     The Family and Medical Leave Act was enacted by Congress on February 5, 1993, and it is public law 103-3. This law allows for a person to leave work in certain situations without losing his/her job. An eligible employees must have worked for the employer for at least 12 months and at least completed 1250 hours of service. An employee is able to leave work for up to 12 weeks for any of the following reasons: the employee expects a baby in his/her immediate family, the employee expects an adopted child in his/her immediate family, the employee has to take care of an ill family member which includes spouse, parent or his/her own children, and/or the employee has a serious medical

Pregnancy and early child development is a fundamental aspect of human society, and is pertinent to the development of a successfully functioning community. The developmental and social progress of any civilization relies on children, as they will compose the future working population. Therefore, a mother or father’s involvement in the child’s development is of extreme importance, which is why family leave has been implemented all over the world. Family leave refers to the period of time granted to the employee to care for their newborn child. As communities evolve economically, financial stability is necessary, for what is perceived to be socially successful for a child’s development, which is why paid family leave is popular throughout the world’s nations. However, ABC News reports that “the U.S. is only one of three countries in the world that don't offer paid maternity leave” (Kim, 2015); the same is true for paternity leave. The United States government has an interesting track record dealing with family leave, but in order to analyze what the US government and advocacy groups have done to solve this issue, there first needs to be an understanding on why this issue is so difficult to resolve. The arguments that support and oppose paid family leave in the United States are equally valid, therefore causing a stalemate in the attempted policy making of legislative bodies.

The lack of a paid parental leave law in the country does not necessarily mean that it is absent in the U.S. labor market. Some generous and more progressive companies do recognize the importance of the leave to employees and do offer it. According to the Employee Benefits Survey of 2015, 21% of employers nationally offer some paid maternity leave while 17% offer some paid paternity/adoption leave. However, about a fifth don’t have any kind of protected maternity, paternity, or adoptive leave. (Ray, 8; Time, n. pag.)

Employers in Oregon need an understanding of both the federal and state laws governing the rights of employees with regards to qualified leave. In this post, Oregon law are outlined. The details are complex so please seek advice for specific cases.