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MGT 391 - JSU - Chapter 10 Notes
the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
The main federal law designed to assist employees who need parental or medical leave, which is __________, has been in effect for more than two decades.
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
The principal federal law governing the provision of leave to employees for parental and medical reasons.
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
____________ is the principal federal law governing the provision of leave to employees for parental and medical reasons.
True
True or False:
All government agencies, regardless of their size, are covered by the FMLA law, as are private-sector employers with at least fifty employees.
The size of the employer, the duration of the employee’s tenure with that employer, the number of hours worked by the employee in the twelve months preceding the taking of leave, the occurrence of a “qualifying event” for which leave is needed, and provision of adequate notification to the employer of the need for leave (see the “Elements of a Claim” feature).
Entitlement to FMLA leave depends on a number of factors. Those are:
commence
The employment duration and hours requirements must be met as of when leave would ___________ rather than at the point in time at which leave is requested.
In a FMLA interference claim, the plaintiff must show:
She was eligible for FMLA benefits and protections.
She worked for this employer for at least twelve months.
She worked at least 1,250 hours in the twelve months prior to taking leave or attempting to do so.
Her employer was covered by the FMLA.
The employer is a private-sector employer with fifty or more employees at the same worksite or spread across multiple worksites within a seventy-five-mile radius.
The employer is a public agency with any number of employees.
She experienced a qualifying event entitling her to FMLA leave.
She provided her employer with sufficient notice of intent to take leave.
She had not already exhausted her maximum leave entitlement for the relevant twelve-month period.
FMLA benefits to which she was entitled were delayed or denied by the employer.
What are the elements of a claim for FMLA:
qualifying events
Circumstances under which eligible employees are entitled to take FMLA leave.
The birth of a son or daughter of the employee
Placement of a son or daughter with the employee by adoption or foster care
The need to care for a spouse, son, daughter, or parent with a serious health condition
The inability of an employee to perform the functions of his job due to a serious health condition
The need to care for a service member who suffered a serious injury or illness while on active duty (“military caregiver leave”)
Any “qualifying exigency” (e.g., short-notice deployment, military events, financial and legal arrangements, counseling, post-deployment activities) arising from the fact that a family member in the military is, or soon will be, placed on active duty
What are the qualifying events under FMLA?
childbirth, adoption, or foster care placement.
The “family” portion of family and medical leave is limited to:
True
True or False:
Both males and females are entitled to parental leave?
twelve months
Entitlement to parental leave under the FMLA generally expires ______ _______ from the date of the birth, adoption, or foster care placement.
serious health condition
A medical condition that involves inpatient care in a hospital (or similar medical facility) or continuing treatment by a health-care provider.
Conditions that result in periods of incapacity of more than three consecutive calendar days and either two or more treatments by health-care providers or one treatment followed by a regimen of continuing care supervised by a health-care provider (the first of these treatments must generally occur within seven days of the onset of incapacity and at least one other treatment must generally occur within thirty days of becoming incapacitated)
Any periods of incapacity relating to pregnancy or prenatal care
Any periods of incapacity, including subsequent treatment, due to chronic, serious health conditions (e.g., asthma, diabetes) for which at least two visits to a health-care provider are made per year
Long-term periods of incapacity due to conditions for which treatment may not be effective (e.g., stroke, terminal diseases)
Any absences to receive multiple treatments from health-care providers for conditions that would likely result in periods of incapacity of more than three consecutive calendar days if left untreated
Serious health conditions involving continuing treatment by a health-care provider include the following:
period of incapacity
Period other than the actual period of hospitalization when a person is unable to work, attend school, or engage in other regular daily activities due to a serious health condition.
Yes
Are migraines covered under FMLA?
No
Are headaches covered under FMLA?
False
True or False:
A “parent” eligible to take leave to care for a child (and for the birth of a child as well) need have a biological or legal relationship to that child.
True
True or False:
Same-sex partners, who act as parents can qualify for FMLA.
certifications from health-care providers.
Employers may, and generally should, require that requests for leave based on serious health conditions be supported by:
fifteen days
Employees must be given at least _______ _______ to obtain documentation related to medical treatment(s) for FMLA.
notify the employee in writing, indicate which information is missing, and afford the employee at least seven calendar days to provide the information.
When the information provided is deemed inadequate, employers are required to:
seven
When the information provided is deemed inadequate, employers are required to notify the employee in writing, indicate which information is missing, and afford the employee at least ______ calendar days to provide the information.
True
True or False:
Employers are also permitted, at their own expense, to require employees to obtain second medical certifications from other doctors.
the third professional must be agreed upon by both parties.
If the first and second providers medical notes conflict, employers can make an associate obtain a third medical professionals views, but:
may
Choose: May / May not
Employers (may/may not) contact employees while they are on leave to receive information on their status and verify their intent to return to work following leave.
The health-care provider
Who’s job is it to determine whether an employee is fit to return to work?
No
Yes or No:
Can an employer overrule a healthcare providers determination of whether when/if an employer is eligible to return to work?
Employees
____________ are responsible for notifying their employers that a qualifying event has occurred for which leave is needed
verbal
Notification can be _______ and need not specifically refer to the FMLA, but it must provide enough information to alert the employer that the FMLA might apply.
No
Yes or No:
Is calling in sick enough justification in notifying your employer that FMLA may apply?
thirty days’
If the need for leave is foreseeable, such as a birth or planned medical treatment where at least the approximate leave dates are known, employees can be required to provide _______ ______ advance notice.
“as soon as practicable.”
If the need for leave is not foreseeable, such as when a serious health problem emerges suddenly and without warning, employees are responsible for providing notice when?
During, or possibly after, periods of absence.
In the case of serious medical emergencies, notification might be made when?
cannot be enforced in emergency medical situations.
In emergency situations, Employers’ requirements for written notification of the need for leave:
first consult with their employers regarding the timing of the treatment and attempt to schedule leave to lessen its disruptiveness.
When leave is needed for planned medical treatment(s), employees are expected to:
was
Choose: Was / Was Not
An employee’s report that he missed work because he “had a headache” (was/was not) deemed sufficient notice of need for FMLA leave when the employer had prior knowledge that he suffered from migraines.
Employees who provide prior (rather than after-the-fact) notice of the need for leave, who indicate at least an approximate date of return, and who maintain contact with their employers during leave appear to fare better legally than those who do not do these things.
In order to have a better chance of fairing legally in a FMLA proceeding if needed, an employer must show what?
Family Medical Leave Act
FMLA stands for:
“A period of incapacity of more than three consecutive, full calendar days, and any subsequent treatment or period of incapacity relating to the same condition.”
Continuing treatment by a health care provider is:
the “inability to work, attend school or perform other regular daily activities due to the serious health condition, treatment therefore, or recovery therefrom.”
“Incapacity” means:
timing; content
An employee’s notice of her need for FMLA leave must satisfy two criteria—______ and _______— both of which differ depending on whether the need for leave is foreseeable or unforeseeable.
foreseeable
If an employee’s need for leave is ___________, she must give her employer at least 30 days’ advance notice, unless giving 30 days’ notice is impracticable, in which case the employee must give only “such notice as is practicable.”
unforeseeable
If an employee’s need for leave is _____________, the 30-day requirement “does not apply.”
practicable
An employee [whose need for leave is unforeseeable] must provide notice to the employer as soon as _____________ under the facts and circumstances of the particular case.
need not
Choose: Need or Need Not:
As a general rule, an employee (need / need not) explicitly mention the FMLA when giving notice to her employer.
True
True or False:
The FMLA and its regulations do require that the notice convey certain information.
foreseeable
If the need for leave is __________, an employee must give her employer notice that is “sufficient to make the employer aware that the employee needs FMLA-qualifying leave, and [of] the anticipated timing and duration of the leave.”
give her employer notice that is “sufficient to make the employer aware that the employee needs FMLA-qualifying leave, and [of] the anticipated timing and duration of the leave.”
If the need for leave is foreseeable, an employee must:
unforeseeable
If the need for leave is ____________, an employee need only “provide sufficient information for [her] employer to reasonably determine whether the FMLA may apply to the leave request.”
need only “provide sufficient information for [her] employer to reasonably determine whether the FMLA may apply to the leave request.”
If the need for leave is unforeseeable, an employee:
if the leave was foreseeable or unforeseeable.
The court views the “content” portion of validating a need for a FMLA claim as:
No
Yes or No:
Does the FMLA nor its implementing regulations define the terms “foreseeable” and “unforeseeable?
“foreseeable based on planned medical treatment.”
FMLA it requires 30 days’ advance notice if the need for leave is:
it is based on planned medical treatment.
From a courts perspective, an employee’s need for leave is foreseeable if:
After returning from FMLA leave.
The FMLA gives employees the right to be reinstated to their original job (or an equivalent) when?
1- Up to a total of twelve workweeks of leave over a twelve-month period (however, when the qualifying event is the serious injury or illness of a service member incurred during active duty, the maximum period of leave is extended to twenty-six weeks)
2- Maintenance of health insurance under the same conditions as if the employee had not taken leave
3- Restoration to the same position held before leave commenced or to an equivalent position with the same pay, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment
What does the FMLA require Employers to provide?
discriminating (retaliating)
Employers must refrain from ____________against employees for taking FMLA leave and from otherwise interfering with, restraining, or denying the exercise of FMLA rights.
otherwise interfering with, restraining, or denying the exercise of FMLA rights.
Employers must refrain from discriminating (retaliating) against employees for taking FMLA leave and from:
Interference
An intentional interference of an employee’s rights without justifiable cause or excuse by delaying or denying.
Retaliation
One major type of discrimination that occurs when an employee who asserts her rights under the law is subjected to a materially adverse action for doing so.
interference
Generally speaking, employer actions taken prior to the receipt of leave that have the effect of delaying or denying leave give rise to __________ claims.
retaliation
Actions taken by employers during or after periods of leave to punish leave takers constitute ___________.
do not matter.
Although both violate the FMLA, the distinction between interference and retaliation is important because an illegal motive must be shown in retaliation claims, while an employer’s reasons for interfering with the exercise of FMLA rights:
retaliation
Although interference and retaliation violate the FMLA, the distinction between interference and retaliation is important because an illegal motive must be shown in ___________ claims, while an employer’s reasons for interfering with the exercise of FMLA rights do not matter.
disciplined ; terminated
A common issue in FMLA cases is employees being ___________ or __________ based on absences due to FMLA leave.
adverse employment
Employers must not base ________ ________ actions on the taking of FMLA leave.
count all absences without regard to the reasons for them.
“No-fault” attendance policies do what:
inherently in conflict with the FMLA and must be eliminated or allow for exceptions.
“No-fault” attendance policies, which count all absences without regard to the reasons for them, are:
True
True or False:
“No-fault” attendance policies do not count for exceptions to absences, like FMLA leave.
False
True or False:
“No-fault” attendance policies are the best policies for an organization to have and are not at risk for any legalities.
True
True or False:
If an organization chooses to adopt a “no-fault” attendance policy, there needs to be exceptions to this policy that account for and excuse absences for reasonings covered by laws such as FMLA.
entitlement
The FMLA creates an _____________ to leave, regardless of if or when an employer would prefer to grant leave.
must grant the leave.
If an eligible employee experiences a qualifying event and notifies her employer that she needs to take leave, the employer:
If an eligible employee experiences a qualifying event and notifies her employer that she needs to take leave, the employer must grant the leave. The amount of leave that must be provided is the amount needed by the employee, up to a total of twelve workweeks over a twelve-month period.
If an eligible employee experiences a qualifying event and notifies her employer that she needs to take leave, the employer must grant the leave. The amount of leave that must be provided is the amount needed by the employee, up to a total of twelve workweeks over a twelve-month period.
twelve workweeks
Under the FMLA, the amount of leave that must be provided is the amount needed by the employee, up to a total of __________ __________ over a twelve-month period.
twelve-month period.
Under the FMLA, the amount of leave that must be provided is the amount needed by the employee, up to a total of twelve workweeks over a ____________.
1- the calendar year,
2- any other fixed twelve-month period,
3- a twelve-month period measured forward from the first day that any FMLA leave is taken by the employee, and
4- a rolling twelve-month period measured backward from the most recent day in which leave was used.
Employers have four options for defining the twelve-month period. Those options are:
The four (4) options the employer has for defining the twelve-month period.
The following four (4) options describe what:
1- the calendar year,
2- any other fixed twelve-month period,
3- a twelve-month period measured forward from the first day that any FMLA leave is taken by the employee, and
4- a rolling twelve-month period measured backward from the most recent day in which leave was used.
stacking periods of leave on top of one another (e.g., twelve weeks at the end of a calendar year followed by twelve weeks at the beginning of the next year). Employers must adopt one of these methods, use it consistently, and notify employees regarding their choice of method.
The latter two methods of how an employee can choose to define a twelve-month period are more complex but prevent employees from doing what?
stacking periods.
If an employer defines the twelve-month period as twelve weeks at the end of a calendar year followed by twelve weeks at the beginning of the next year, this is known as:
No
Yes or No:
Can an employer stack periods by implementing the twelve (12) week period at the end of one year and the other twelve weeks at the beginning of the following year?
“Leave”
_________ means that the employee is relieved of all work duties and the obligation to come to work.
No
Yes or No:
Are employers free to assign work duties to employees on FMLA leave?
one; consistently
Employers have four options for defining the twelve-month period. Employers must adopt _______ of these methods, use it ________ , and notify employees regarding their choice of method.
True
True or False:
An employer must notify the employee on how they calculate their twelve (12) month period and this calculation must be used consistently.
False
True or False:
An employer must notify the employee on how they calculate their twelve (12) month period and this calculation is on a case-by-case scenario.
continuous leave
Leave taken all in one block with no work occurring between the beginning and end of leave.
intermittent leave
Periods of leave mixed with periods of work.
reduced leave schedule
A type of intermittent leave during which an employee’s normal daily or weekly hours of work are reduced.
continuous ; intermittent
Leaves for serious health conditions of employees or their family members can be either ________ or __________ depending on the employee’s needs.
which qualifying event necessitated the leave.
Whether leave must be taken all in one block with no work occurring between the beginning and end of leave (continuous leave) or whether it can consist of periods of leave mixed with periods of work (intermittent leave) depends on:
continuous
Leaves for childbirth, adoption, or foster care placement must be ___________ unless the employer allows otherwise.
Intermittent
____________ leave might be needed to receive ongoing treatments or to deal with chronic conditions that occasionally flare up.
reduced leave
One particular type of intermittent leave is a __________ _________ schedule.
True
True or False:
Under the FMLA, employees may choose—or their employers may require them—to substitute available paid leave for unpaid FMLA leave.
No
Yes or No:
Does FMLA entitle employees to paid leave?
does not
Choose: does / does not:
Although the FMLA (does / does not) entitle employees to paid leave, many employees are able to use vacation, personal days, sick days, or other paid leave to cover some or all of their FMLA leaves.
True
True or False:
Although the FMLA does not entitle employees to paid leave, many employees are able to use vacation, personal days, sick days, or other paid leave to cover some or all of their FMLA leaves.
