In a decision largely viewed as a significant victory for employers, the California Supreme Court in Brinker Restaurant Corporation v. The Superior Court of San Diego County ruled that employers must provide meal breaks to employees but do not have to ensure they are taken.  The employer satisfies this meal period obligation by relieving its [...]

United States Supreme Court Rules That State Employees Cannot Sue for Money Damages in FMLA Self-Care Cases On March 20, 2012, a sharply divided United States Supreme Court ruled that state employees may not sue the state for money damages relating to an alleged violation of the self-care provision of the Family and Medical Leave [...]

In California, employers must comply with a wide variety of well-known state leave laws in addition to federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act. There are two employee leave laws in California, however, which are not highly publicized. The first pertains to time off for employees to attend or participate in their [...]

A relatively new type of leave for private employers in California is organ and bone marrow donor leave. Under the Michelle Maykin Memorial Donation Protection Act (“Act”), effective January 1, 2011, companies employing 15 or more employees must provide paid leave to an employee that requests it for the purpose of donating an organ or [...]

The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), originally passed in 1938, is a morass of complex rules generally requiring employers to pay nonexempt employees at least the federal minimum wage as well as overtime for all hours worked over 40 in a week. Even work a nonexempt employee is not asked to perform is compensable if [...]

In 2008, Pennsylvania passed a law amending its Local Tax Enabling Act with the goal of streamlining and standardizing local earned income tax (“EIT”) collection. The law, known as Pennsylvania ACT 32 of 2008 (“Act 32”), provides for a three year transition period with mandatory compliance required by January 1, 2012.  Act 32 not only [...]

In this third FMLA FAQ post, I explore some of the most fraught aspects of managing leave requests in a compliant and employee-sensitive manner. Many employers I speak with are fully aware of their rights and the rights of their employees under the FMLA, but are understandably hesitant to decline leave requests when an employee [...]

As any experienced HR or benefits administrator will tell you, the FMLA is not an island. It is prudent to consider whether any other employee protection or privacy laws apply to a particular situation each time HR makes a leave determination. One common example of overlap is an employee’s eligibility for a state leave law, [...]

Many studies show that the Family and Medical Leave Act is a top-of-mind concern for HR, and my experience is no different. I field more FMLA questions than any other single topic – and even receive them during presentations about separate employment law matters. An FAQ format is an excellent fit for a topic with [...]

Although California employers are not required to provide sick leave to their employees, any California employer providing sick leave must allow an employee to use one-half of his/her accrued and available leave entitlement to care for their sick child, parent, spouse, domestic partner, or domestic partner’s child. This is known as “Kin Care” and, unlike [...]