Eleventh Circuit Clarifies Legal Standard in Evaluating Similarly Situated Individuals

For years, advocates in the Eleventh Circuit have expressed confusion over the term "similarly situated" when addressing claims of discrimination under the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting analysis. In a rare move, the Eleventh Circuit sought to clear up "the mess" it had created through prior circuit court decisions. As a result of the Court's findings, employers—particularly those in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida—will have more clarity when evaluating possible discrimination claims. More ›

Employee May Proceed with Claim Her Employer Led Her to Believe She Could Take FMLA Leave Before She Qualified

Employers cannot force employees to take medical leave before they become eligible for FMLA leave. Nor can they lull an employee into believing they will be granted leave despite being ineligible, then terminate when they take leave. This seems like common sense, right? Hopefully so, but a recent Wisconsin district court case reminds us common sense does not always prevail in the workplace. More ›

Uniform Application of Employment Policies Leads to Positive Outcome in Employee’s Suit

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently explained that an employee’s inconvenience from a neutral workplace policy or the employer’s discretionary denial of benefits cannot support a claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (“Title VII”), or the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”). More ›

Make Sure You Are Using the New FMLA Forms

On September 4, 2018, the Department of Labor issued new FMLA notices and certification forms.  The changes made are procedural in nature and were the result of the DOL's obligation to submit its forms to the Federal Office of Management and Budget every three years.  The prior forms expired on May 31, 2018, however, they were renewed on a temporary basis pending approval by the OMB.  Now that the approval is completed, the new forms reflect the updated expiration date of August 21, 2021.  To ensure you are using the updated forms, be sure to look for this new expiration date in the upper right-hand corner of the DOL Wage and Hour Division form.  Though the substance of the forms does not appear to have changed, employers will want to make sure they have switched to most current forms.   More ›

The Risks and Rewards of Allowing Employees to Work During FMLA Leave

The Family & Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") grants employees leave in certain enumerated situations. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held it also allows the employee and employer to strike an agreement that the employee will perform certain duties and responsibilities during the leave and receive compensation for it without creating an actionable interference claim under the FMLA. More ›

Hinshaw E-alert on a New Employer Tax Credit for Paid FMLA

The Hinshaw employment team recently published an e-alert on a topic that should also be of interest to our blog readers. The alert describes a provision in the new tax law that provides a tax credit for employers who offer paid FMLA leave to eligible employees, along with a description of eligibility requirements. You can read the alert on the Hinshaw website.

Seventh Circuit Holds a Multi-Month Leave is Not a Reasonable Accommodation

Last week the Seventh Circuit dealt a blow to the EEOC's continued position that medical leave is a reasonable accommodation when the leave is (1) of a definite, time-limited duration; (2) re-quested in advance; and (3) likely to enable the employee to perform the essential job functions upon return. The panel rejected that position, noting it glossed over the length of the requested leave, improperly transforming the ADA into "an open-ended extension of the FMLA." More ›

EEOC Sues Illinois Employer for Refusing to Provide Disabled Employee Additional Leave

You have complied with the Family Medical Leave Act by allowing an employee with a serious medical condition 12 weeks of leave. You even provided a few additional weeks even though he has exhausted all available leave. When the employee asks for three more weeks, and you think to yourself “the company has met its legal obligations and can terminate, right?” Wrong—according to the EEOC. More ›

Illinois Requires Child Bereavement Leave

Illinois recently joined Oregon as the second state to require certain bereavement leave by passing a law requiring unpaid leave for employees who suffer the death of a child.

Effective as of July 29, 2016 the Child Bereavement and Leave Act requires employers to provide employees with up to two weeks (10 work days) of unpaid leave for attending a funeral, making arrangements necessitated by the child’s death, or grieving. The Act permits an employee to take leave for the death of a child, and “child” is broadly defined to include natural, foster, and adopted children (in addition to a few other legal categories of child). Of note is that the Act is not limited to children under the age of 18. More ›

Employee’s Inability to Meet Job’s Attendance Requirements Divests Her of ADA Protections Sixth Circuit Holds

The converging paths of the Family Medical Leave Act's (FMLA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ranks among the most difficult legal issues for employers to safely traverse. Employers should think twice before terminating an employee who cannot return to work after 12 weeks of FMLA leave. This is because courts across the country have held that additional leave may be a necessary reasonable accommodation under the ADA. The question then becomes, how much additional leave does one need to provide an employee before he or she is no longer protected by the ADA. More ›