FMLA and pay
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Has anyone heard anything about pending legislation that would require employers to pay for time off under FMLA?
I know that we can require that vacation time, pto, and sick leave be used but I'm being told that the pending legislation is going to require all time off under FMLA be paid.
I know that we can require that vacation time, pto, and sick leave be used but I'm being told that the pending legislation is going to require all time off under FMLA be paid.
Comments
On March 18, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) introduced the Healthy Families Act (HFA) to the House of Representatives. If passed, the law will require companies with at least 15 employees to provide up to seven days of paid sick leave a year. Both full- and part-time workers would be eligible. They’d earn an hour of leave for every 30 they work, accruing up to 56 hours in a 12-month period. Employees would start accruing leave as soon as they’re hired and could use it after 60 days. Workers would be able to use the time to care for themselves or a family member who’s ill. The law allows employers to ask for proof from a doctor. Companies could also be sued for retaliating against an employee who uses sick days.
The bill states that employers already meeting the requirements of the law won’t have to offer additional leave. However, experts say it’s not clear what this means for employers with all-purpose paid time off plans, with no distinction between vacation and sick days.
What chance does the bill have of passing? In the House, the HFA has 101 co-sponsors and the support of the Democrat majority. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) is expected to introduce a companion bill in the Senate soon.
Similar legislation was proposed in 2007 but was stalled, partially due to a veto threat from President Bush. However, Obama has vocally supported the bill and will sign it if it’s passed by Congress.
Some other key points:
It requires you to allow sick leave to be used for the illness of the employee's minor child; it only allows you to require a doctor's note after the third day; and the bill has actually grown substantially over the years as DeLauro attempts to gain support by padding it with additional allowances, such as requiring employers to let employees use sick time for court or social services appearances related to the threat of domestic abuse.
On its face, this appears to be a pretty good example of what I've been talking about for a few weeks - laws that are good for society as a whole but may create a little extra work for HR. It's easy for me to support it - our leave policy is so tortuous and convoluted, this law would actually vastly simplify my job while adding very little expense. It might even be enough to push the organization to adopt PTO. That's a major win for everyone here - including me.
I've included a link to the actual bill itself. I would really encourage everyone here to become more familiar with it... if it does pass, it will impact almost everyone in some manner. Most employers will not be impacted substantially, but I would expect a lot of employees to develop a lot of misconceptions about what is required or what is forbidden by the Act. Well-informed is well-armed in the battle of perceptions.
[URL]http://www.employerlawreport.com/uploads/file/Healthy Families Act.pdf[/URL]
While I sympathize with employees who have no sick time and have no problem with sick time if it is used for the employee only, the structure of the new leave it seems is to allow employees to take time off when the guy down the street gets sick. If proposed leave would be for the employee only, I would say pass the entitlement. However, the group that this leave encompasses merely gives people more excuses to take time off.
In my opinion, FMLA is enough to cover family members; we don't need to give more free days so people can stay home.
In my opinion, FMLA is enough to cover family members; we don't need to give more free days so people can stay home.[/quote]
FMLA is not a practical solution in the vast majority of cases involving the illness of an employee's child.
Julie Athey
Author, FMLA Compliance: Practical Solutions for HR (published by M. Lee Smith Publishers)
Author, HRQ&A: Family and Medical Leave Act (published by M. Lee Smith Publishers)
I remember reading something recently about paid FMLA for federal employees only. Could this be what you're thinking of?
Sharon
Were your parents math teachers, numerologists, or just plain mean?
(also interrupting fun...)
Nae,
Are you referring to PFL (Paid Family Leave)? 1/2004 we all started contributing more into the state disability fund and starting 7/2004, employees can take up to 6 weeks off every year at 55% of their income supplemented from that fund for qualified purposes. FMLA can run concurrently with PFL.
[url]http://www.hrhero.com/hl/061909-tip-FMLA.html[/url]