Compliance Stuff

What kind of notice must employees provide to their employer when taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act? And how strictly may an employer rely on a doctor’s certification regarding the amount of FMLA leave an employee requires? A recent decision,  Jackson v. United States Postal Service , from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, provides guidance on these difficult questions. Quick Hits The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit’s opinion in  Jackson v. United States Postal Service  provides guidance to employers on FMLA notice requirements and certifications. Employers may wish to ensure that actual practices align with written notice procedures and enforce those procedures consistently. For unforeseen intermittent leave under the FMLA , a healthcare provider’s certification provides only an estimate of leave and not an absolute limi t. Background The employee, Kristopher Jackson, suffers from sickle cell anemia, which can flare up unpredi...

Try wrapping your head around this one. All of you experts on the Family and Medical Leave Act, gather 'round! THIS WILL BE HARD! The following is from a  real lawsuit  that was filed Wednesday in federal court in Indianapolis.  The plaintiff -- we'll call her "Annabelle" -- was an FMLA case manager for a health care employer. Actually, according to her lawsuit, her title was "[Annabelle] RN, BSN, CHNw Leave Team Case Manager/Benefits Administration." Yeah, and I am "Robin E. Shea, A.B., J.D., Esquire, Attorney at Law." Anyway, Annabelle had been with this employer since 2002, but she was fired in January 2025, allegedly in retaliation for internally objecting to certain FMLA policies that the company adopted in January 2025 and also for complaining to the U.S. Department of Labor about those policies. BACKGROUND At this early stage, all we have is Annabelle's lawsuit. The employer has not yet had a chance to respond. Here's what she says (...

  Based on a real lawsuit. Names have been changed to protect the innocent. Facts may not be 100 percent accurate. Please provide your two cents in the comments! PART ONE: Imagine you're the boss. You run a fast-food franchise, Flippin' Burgers. You hire Gwendolyn to be a first-shift manager at one of your restaurants.  You have a policy that says employees, including management, will receive progressive discipline for being absent without proper notification. In non-emergency situations, they are required to call in before the start of their shifts. Gwendolyn is out one day and fails to call in as required by the policy. Per the policy, you counsel her about the need to provide timely notice of her absences. WHEN GWENDOLYN NO-SHOWED, YOU HAD TO GET BY WITH A SKELETON CREW. A little while later, she does it again. This time you amp it up to a written warning and say that failure to comply in the future could result in "disciplinary action, up to and including discharge....