Your Leave Is Up – Sorry but You’re Fired

Many employers have medical leave policies.  Most of those policies allow leave for a maximum duration often three to six months or even up to a year.  The FMLA, of course, guarantees job protection for 12 weeks.  But what is an employer to do if an employee has used up their FMLA leave (or is otherwise not eligible for FMLA), and they reach the maximum medical leave under the employer’s policy?

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Earlier this year, we told you about a recent case from Kentucky in which a federal court found that it was not reasonable for a plaintiff to expect his employer to accommodate his lifting restrictions by spreading essential lifting requirements among the plaintiff’s co-workers.

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Notice Posting Rule Is Struck Down

Back in August 2011, the NLRB published a rule that would require private employers to post in conspicuous places a government poster intended to notify employees of their rights under the NLRA.  Business groups challenged the rule, and the NLRB delayed the effective date several times.  Then in early 2012, courts got into the act and struck down parts of the rule and eventually enjoined the rule until the appeals court heard and decided the case.  (more…)

For the past several years, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) has been devoting considerable attention to worker classification issues involving the misclassification of employees as independent contractors.  These misclassifications are important to the IRS and the federal government because they often lead to underreporting and underpayment of taxes.  Traditionally, the IRS has sought to address worker classification issues through the audit process, which can quickly become costly for employers that are assessed unpaid taxes, penalties and interest for workers who are reclassified as employees by the IRS.

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Confidentiality Requirements Challenged by the NLRB

Last summer, the NLRB created another stir among private employers when it found that an employer’s form used during confidential investigations of workplace issues was unlawfully broad and interfered with employee rights.  We wrote about this development in our August 7, 2012 HR Insights article Confidential Investigations – Challenged by the NLRB.  After that ruling, employers were left to guess as to what they could say about the confidentiality of workplace investigations in their policies and other documents.  Now there is some guidance, thanks to the NLRB’s Division of Advice, which released a Memorandum on April 16, 2013, suggesting policy language that would withstand NLRB scrutiny.  (more…)