News

"The leave originally wasn’t classified as Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave, but because the official diagnosis occurred almost a month after the first missed workday, does the time he took off since day one fall under the FMLA?... [If] the employee wasn’t hospitalized or didn’t miss three consecutive days of work and wasn’t seen by a healthcare provider within seven days of his incapacity, the employee isn’t eligible for FMLA leave back to day one of his illness. "

"In its final rules implementing the PWFA, the EEOC went to unusual lengths to rein in an employer's ability to obtain medical documentation when an employee requests a pregnancy accommodation.... FMLA medical certification would be an acceptable tool to use first if an employee limited by pregnancy is seeking leave from work, or if leave is the only option available.... But what's the employer's response if the employee fails to return the FMLA certification?"

18 slides. "Payroll tax begins July 2024. Contributions will be shared 50/50 by employers and employees.... Benefits begin July 2026 ... Employers with fewer than 15 employees are exempt from contributions; employees are required to contribute."

"While men taking time off to care for their children is still a newer concept, it is becoming a more common practice at employers who make it an available option. Employers who offer new dads the chance to bond with their newborns and spend time with their significant others as they heal indicate that these policies promote employee retention, advance gender equity, and help maintain better work-life balance for employees."

"Effective July 1, 2024, [the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA)] will no longer cover family leave (aka parental bonding leave), or serious health condition leave for an employee or their family member.... In situations where an eligible employee would be entitled to OFLA leave on June 30, 2024, but will no longer be entitled to OFLA leave on July 1, 2024, employers must, as soon as practicable but no later than June 1, 2024, notify the employee in writing that the leave will not be protected by OFLA on and after July 1, 2024."

"On May 6, 2024, the Connecticut General Assembly expanded its 2012 landmark legislation that required private-sector employers with fifty or more employees to provide paid sick time to all 'service workers.'  ... Public Act No. 24-8 expands the availability of paid sick time to nearly every employee in Connecticut by 2027." [Article includes a side-by-side comparison of current law and the expansion.]

"The court found that the plaintiff, who was on approved FMLA leave at the time she was discharged from employment for prior acts of theft of food pantry donations in violation of the city's code of ethics, had failed to offer any evidence that she would have retained her job but for her request for FMLA leave and had failed to establish that the city's stated reason for her dismissal was a pretext for FMLA retaliation and race discrimination." [ McBeath v. City of Indianapolis , No. 22-1216 (S.D. Ind. Apr. 29, 2024)]

"Connecticut's paid sick leave law currently applies to employers who employ at least 50 individuals in the State of Connecticut. That threshold will be lowered beginning on the effective date of the new law (expected to be Jan. 1, 2025) and will reduce annually until Jan. 1, 2027, at which time it will apply to employers with one or more employees in the State of Connecticut.... Beginning on Jan. 1, 2025, the 'service worker' concept will be removed from the law entirely, and covered employers will be required to provide paid sick leave to all employees, with limited exceptions[.]"

"Before the pandemic, 10 states and the District of Columbia had laws requiring employers to provide paid sick leave. Since then, [5 more states] have passed laws offering some kind of paid time off for illness.... In [3 more states], advocates are pushing to put the issue on the ballot this fall.... According to a report by the National Bureau of Economic Research, once these mandates go into effect, employees take, on average, two more sick days a year than before a law took effect."

"After July 31, 2025, employees who need time off to manage care or isolate for COVID-19 will need to use existing paid leave regimes, including New York State's Paid Sick Leave and New York City's Earned Sick and Safe Time."

"Effective January 1, 2025, New York employers will be required to provide paid prenatal leave to eligible employees during their pregnancies.... Key steps for employers include: [1] Updating employee handbooks and leave policies ... [2] Training managers and HR staff ... [and] [3] Ensuring payroll systems are configured to properly administer prenatal leave pay[.]"

"Last year, the General Assembly passed an amendment to the law that, among other things, delayed collection of contributions and benefit payments for a year. Jackson Lewis detailed that amendment's notable changes. During the latest legislative session, lawmakers passed SB485, making additional modifications and setting new dates for contributions and benefits under the Program."

"Contributions ... are set to begin July 1, 2025. Starting July 1, 2026, covered employees may take up to 12 weeks of leave in a rolling 12-month period, with another 12 weeks possible for employees who experience a serious health condition and need to bond with a new child.... Covered employers must participate in the state program or comply with an approved private plan (insured, self-insured, or a combination)."

"There are a myriad of ... state and local laws that a company must consider when it allows an employee to transfer to a state in which the company has not previously had a presence.... [S]tates have enacted [1] corporate laws requiring entities doing business in that state to register with the Secretary of State, [2] employment laws requiring mandatory leave, [3] state disability insurance programs, ... and [4] state-mandated retirement benefits."

"The final regulations affirm a broad carveout for existing policies that provide 40 hours of paid leave (or a prorated equivalent) to be used for any reason. They also confirm that setting a carryover cap for the paid leave bank is permitted."

"The final rules confirm that carryover of unused Paid Sick Leave is required, even when frontloading. They also address the circumstances under which employers can deny an employee's request for Paid Leave. The rules do not provide any direction to employers as to how to calculate the 90-day lookback rate of pay contemplated by the Ordinance for certain non-exempt employees."

"Unique substantive requirements, regular amendments to the Ordinance, Rules and administrative guidance, and proactive enforcement have been hallmarks of the mandate since it went into effect in April 2014."

"[B]eginning January 1, 2025, private employers will be required to provide employees with 20 hours of paid prenatal leave in a 52-week calendar period ... Hitting the stage sooner, however, is the new requirement that both public and private employers provide 30 minute paid breast milk expression breaks for nursing employees, which goes into effect June 19, 2024."

"Develop family building programs that provide comprehensive support for all paths to parenthood including fertility, adoption and surrogacy and access to clinical resources ... Implement family wellbeing programs to include all aspects of wellness ... Design leave and return-to-work policies that embrace part-time and phased in approaches ... Provide caregiving support ... Give mothers (and parents) control over their schedules."

"[E]mployers will be required to provide up to twenty hours of 'paid prenatal personal leave' a year beginning on January 1, 2025.... A separate budget law ... makes further adjustments to New York's lactation and breastfeeding accommodation requirements. As of June 19, 2024, covered employers will be required to provide paid thirty-minute breaks for employees who need to express breast milk for a nursing child."

"This is the first law of its kind in the United States as it provides a separate bank of paid, protected leave for pregnant employees for prenatal care above and beyond existing paid leave entitlements."

"New York has become the first state in the nation to mandate paid prenatal leave for pregnant employees.... [E]ligible pregnant employees are entitled to 20 hours of paid leave within a 52-week calendar period to attend appointments for prenatal care, including physical exams, monitoring and testing, and discussions with health care providers. This benefit is in addition to state sick leave or paid leave under the NY PFL."

"Because the final rule takes a more expansive view of who may qualify for workplace accommodations than the ADA, employers will need to analyze requests for accommodations under the PWFA differently than disability-based requests under the ADA."

"The 400-page final rule provides an expansive, employee-friendly interpretation of the PWFA and clarifies who is covered, the types of limitations and medical conditions covered, and how to request reasonable accommodations.... The final rule includes examples of limitations and medical conditions for which employees can seek reasonable accommodations ... The final rule emphasizes that informing employers of limitations and requesting reasonable accommodations should not be complicated or difficult."

"[Paid Leave Oregon (PLO)] and [Oregon Family Leave Act (OLFA)] no longer run concurrently ... Employees must be permitted to use accrued leave ... New OFLA definition of 'one-year period."