HR
Best Practices
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Question of the Week: We currently have
49 employees (including one on leave) and are in the process of hiring another. Now that we are a 50-employee company, when do we need to comply with FMLA requirements?
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Answer:
From a federal perspective, when an employer hits 50 employees, two things can change. First, if an employer has 50 or more employees for at least 20 weeks in a calendar
year, they become a covered employer under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
The FMLA allows employees to balance their work and family life by taking reasonable unpaid leave for certain family and medical reasons. The FMLA seeks
to accomplish these purposes in a manner that accommodates the legitimate interests of employers and minimizes the potential for employment discrimination on the basis of gender while promoting equal employment opportunity for men and women. The FMLA entitles
eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for specified family and medical reasons. In determining the 12-month period, employers may elect to use the calendar year, a fixed 12-month leave or fiscal year,
or a 12-month period prior to or after the commencement of leave. Covered employer under the FMLA is any person engaged in commerce or any industry or activity affecting commerce that employs
50 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year.
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Team-building events, whether in or out of the office, often provide individuals with a sense of belonging, motivation, inspiration, enthusiasm, team skills,
and an increase in productivity. The benefits of a team-building event can far outweigh perceived negatives, including monetary and productivity loss. However, team building that focuses on fun without a concentration on connection, challenge, or risk is often
a party of a different sort.
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DOL and EEOC Explain How They Will Approach FMLA and Reasonable Accommodation Enforcement
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This week, I had the pleasure of presenting with Department of Labor and EEOC officials on key developments out of Washington with respect to leave management
and accommodations. Our presentation was part of the annual conference of the Disability Management Employer Coalition. If you’re an employer and not a member of DMEC, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Find out more about the organization here.
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Potential Liability From Your Long Forgotten Vacation/PTO Policy
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Often employers will neglect or overlook revising their vacation and/or paid time off (PTO) policies, which are buried in the employee handbook that was
last revised a half-dozen years ago. For many, this is a big mistake. Depending on your jurisdiction, a poorly drafted vacation/PTO policy can carry significant potential liability. If a company’s vacation/PTO policies are unclear or, worse, there are no such
policies, its employees may be able to claim they are entitled to payment for their accrued but unused vacation upon termination.
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OSHA Issues Extensive Hazard Communication Directive
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On July 20, 2015, OSHA published a long awaited Directive on the revised Hazard Communication Standard (“HCS”), Inspection Procedures for the Hazard Communication
Standard (HCS 2012), CPL 02-02-079. The Directive is intended to provide inspection and enforcement guidance to compliance officers regarding the final Hazard Communication Standard published in March 2012. However, the Directive also serves as a valuable
tool to employers implementing the requirements on the revised Hazard Communication Standard. The 124-page Directive provides guidance in the areas of Hazard Classification, Labels, Safety Data Sheets (“SDSs”) and Employee Training.
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