applies to
any employer with 50 or more employees, all government agencies, and
all public and private elementary and secondary schools
a covered
employer must post a notice in the workplace concerning the FMLA and
how employees may qualify under its provisions;
to be
eligible, an employee has to have worked at least 1250 hours within
the last 12 months; has to have worked at least 12 months' total time
with the employer; and needs to be assigned to a facility at which at
least 50 employees are working within a 75-mile radius - due to the
1250-hour requirement, many part-time employees will not be eligible
for FMLA leave - however, state FMLA laws may have lower requirements
- Texas does not have an FMLA-style law, so only the federal law applies
the
reason for the absence must be the serious medical condition of the
employee or of a member of the employee's immediate family, or else
the birth or adoption of a child or the placement of a foster child
in the home
the
employer must make up to 12 weeks of paid and/or unpaid leave during
a year available to such an employee
the leave
can be all at once or intermittent, even 1, 2, or 3 hours at a time,
but intermittent leave all goes toward the 12-week limit
it is
best to give employees written notice that they are on FMLA leave and
that they must keep in touch with the employer at regular intervals
specified by the employer - the return date can be specified or left open
FMLA
leave cannot be counted against an employee under a
"no-fault" or "point system" attendance policy
important
for states with limitations on wage deductions: if the employer is to
make payments on behalf of the employee to keep the health insurance
plan in effect during the FMLA leave, the employer should make sure
to have the employee sign a written agreement that any money so paid
will be regarded as an advance against future wages owed and will be
repaid in installments deducted from future paychecks
FLSA problem - docking exempt workers for time missed
executive-,
administrative-, and professional-exempt workers must meet the "salary
basis" test - for all employers in the private sector,
partial-day deductions from salary will destroy the salary basis for
the exemption in most situations
the only exception to that rule is for a situation covered by the FMLA - in that case, hourly docking of pay or leave time would be allowable, but careful documentation must be maintained - this exception only works if the employer, the employee, and the situation are all covered by the FMLA! In addition, any pay deductions would have to be authorized by the employee in writing, due to the Texas Payday Law.
