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BACKGROUND
FMLA Expansion Signed By President Bush
On January 28, President Bush signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act ("NDAA"), which includes an expansion of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to cover family members of military service personnel.
This law provides two new types of FMLA leave:
1) Employers with 50 or more employees must provide 12 weeks of leave due to a qualifying exigency arising out of the active military duty (or notice of impending call or order to active duty) of an employee's spouse, parent, or child.
2) Employers must also provide up 26 weeks in a 12-month period to an employee who is the spouse, parent, child, or next of kin of an injured service member.
The provisions providing service member family leave technically became effective as of the date of the President’s signing.
Although the provisions providing for leave for any qualifying exigency are not effective until the DOL issues regulations, the DOL encourages employers to provide this type of leave to qualifying employees in the interim. In contrast, the DOL stated that they would immediately enforce the 26-week unpaid leave allowance to care for a wounded Armed Forces member.
DOL Proposes FMLA Revisions On February 11, 2008
On February 11, 2008, the Department of Labor (DOL) published the first proposed revisions to the FMLA since 1995. These revisions cover a wide range of provisions under the current regulations including:
1) Changing the timing of employee notification of the need for FMLA leave
2) Changing medical certification provisions
3) Changing employer obligations for providing notice of FMLA rights
4) Changing intermittent leave and call-in procedures
5) Changing the definition of a serious health condition
You need to know what steps you need to take NOW to get in compliance with the new law and what changes you need to anticipate making in your policies and procedures based on the proposed regulations.
AHI has teamed up with FMLA expert Charles P. Stevens, Esq., to present a 90-minute web conference:
FMLA 2008 Update: Complying With The New Regulations And Military Leave Expansion
Live Web Conference
Thursday, March 6, 2008
1:00-2:30 PM Eastern Time
Presenter: Charles P. Stevens, Esq.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A RECORDING
This 90-minute web conference with FMLA expert Charles P. Stevens, Esq., will answer critical questions like:
1) What steps do I need to take immediately to comply with the military leave expansion of FMLA?
2) Do I have to grant FMLA military leave to all employees who request it citing the new law?
3) Can FMLA military leave be taken on an intermittent basis?
4) How many days does an employer have to make a final determination that an employee absence qualifies as FMLA leave?
5) May I contact a doctor directly to clarify medical certification?
6) How often must an employee see a physician in order for a chronic condition to be eligible to be considered a serious health condition?
7) What other areas of the law will be changed by the new regulations? PLUS...get answers to your
questions from our expert during the live Q&A session.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A RECORDING
WHO SHOULD "LISTEN IN"
Anyone who administers or makes
decisions regarding the FMLA including:
•
HR professionals/directors/managers
•
Benefits administrators
•
Business owners
•
Front-line managers who have authority to
grant leave
FEATURED SPEAKER
Charles
P. Stevens is a partner in the Milwaukee office of the prestigious law firm
of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP. With over 20 years of legal
experience, his practice involves Employment Relations and Employee
Benefits matters, including ERISA, employee benefits litigation,
employee benefit plans, deferred compensation, multi-employer benefits,
personnel policies, COBRA, Americans with Disabilities Act, and Family
and Medical Leave Act matters.
Mr.
Stevens was admitted to practice law in Wisconsin in 1981 and is
also admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and the U.S. District
Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin.
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