New Connecticut legislation has expanded the state’s “mini-COBRA law”. Both large and small employers will be affected as the law extends the health continuation coverage from 18 months to 30 months.
Another new Connecticut law, effective October 1, 2010, entitles employees who are family violence victims to take leave from work.
The Connecticut Superior Court has ruled that both in-state and out-of-state employees are included in determining whether an organization must comply with the state FMLA [ Velez v. Mayfield].
Effective July 5, 2010, in accordance with a state indoor smoking ban, virtually all Wisconsin workplaces must be smoke free. Wisconsin has become the latest state to address worker misclassification (i.e., incorrectly treating employees as independent contractors) with passage of SB 672 and Assembly Bill 929. The new laws increase monitoring and penalties for such misclassifications. The federal government and many states around the country are addressing the “independent contractor issue.”
Another new Wisconsin law (SB 585) prohibits discrimination against workers who decline to attend political or religious meetings held by their employers.
Nevada’s minimum wage is increasing on July 1, 2010. Minimum wage for employers offering qualified health benefits to their employees will be $7.25 per hour (the current federal rate) and $8.25 for those not offering benefits.
On March 25, the Family Leave Insurance Act of 2009 was introduced in the House of Representatives. The bill would implement a family leave insurance program providing certain employees up to 12 weeks of paid family leave in a 12 month period. The bill would require employers of 2 or more employees to provide paid leave to employees who had worked a minimum of 625 hours in the 6 months prior to seeking leave. Leave would generally be provided for the same reasons as allowed under the FMLA. The leave would be paid for via contributions from the employee and employer. Employee benefits would be determined based upon an employee’s salary. Those with smaller incomes would receive a greater percentage of their salaries. The bill is currently in committee and its fate is uncertain especially given the current economic issues.
A recent 8th Circuit Court of Appeals case recently dealt with an interesting FMLA question. The issue was: Is it appropriate for an organization to fire an employee on FMLA leave for failing to call in each day, as required by company policy?
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After two years the Department of Labor has just released its final regulatory updates to the Family Leave Act. These new regulations we be effective on January 16, 2009.
While attorneys and other “interested” observers are pouring over the 201 page document published in the Federal Registry, it doesn’t appear, at first glance, to have any significant surprises or differences from the proposed rules.
New guidance and “clarification” includes those involving the two new forms of FMLA leave…military caregiver and active duty leave, modifications regarding employer and employee notice requirements, and changes regarding medical certifications.
New guidance has also been added to implement the Supreme Court’s decision in Ragsdale v. Wolverine Worldwide (i.e., regarding penalties where employers fail to give proper notice), light duty, perfect attendance, and waiver of rights in settling FMLA claims. More details on these changes can be found at the Department of Labor website www.dol.gov.
They will require changes in your FMLA policy. As important as these new regulations are they may be overshadowed by what could happen in the next Congress. With Democrats controlling the White House and Congress, look for more proposals to make substantive FMLA changes in the future. This will probably include lowering the coverage threshold from 50 to 25 employees and allowing workers to take leave for elder care, school-parental leave and domestic violence situations. You will probably also see the new Administration support efforts to make FMLA leave paid, rather than unpaid. Finally, efforts to require most businesses to provide employees with a certain amount of paid sick leave will also gain momentum.
Continuation of post last week introducing various HR issues being addressed in Washington DC and providing more information on each topic.
Congress and President-elect Barack Obama both support some sort of expansion of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This will probably include lowering the coverage threshold from 50 to 25 employees and allowing workers to take leave for elder care, school-parental leave and domestic violence situations. You will probably also see the new Administration support efforts to make FMLA leave paid, rather than unpaid. Finally, efforts to require most businesses to provide employees with a certain amount of paid sick leave will also gain momentum.
You probably haven’t gotten over the excitement of the January 28th Amendments to the Family and Medical Leave Act which provide two new forms of leave relating to military service. Well get ready for more thrill and chills.
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On January 28th, President Bush signed into law a defense authorization bill (H.R. 4986) which expands the Family and Medical Leave Act. Among other things the new law expands FMLA coverage. It requires covered employers to:
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