FMLA Regulations Are Now Effective
Beginning today, January 16, 2009, the Department of Labor's regulations concerning the FMLA are now in effect. Based on my review of the final regulations, I believe that the following 3 components of the FMLA will have the most impact on employers.
1. Military caregiver leave and qualifying exigency leave. Eligible employees who are family members of covered servicemembers are now able to take up to 26 work weeks of leave in a single 12 month period to care for a covered servicemember with a serious illness or injury suffered in the line of duty while on actiive duty. For a more detailed discussion of this change, please see my blog entry of December 4, 2008.
2. Employer notice obligations and new forms. Employers are now required to give employees general notice of the FMLA, through a poster and either an employee handbook or upon hire, an eligibility notice, notice of rights and responsibilities, and a designation notice. There are new forms published by DOL and available on the DOL website.
3. Adoption of the Ragsdale decision. The United States Supreme Court decided the case of Ragsdale v. Wolverine World Wide Inc, which found that an employer does not need to provide additional FMLA leave as a penalty for failure to appropriately designate FMLA leave. The final rule, although removing the prior categorical penalty provisions, does find that when an employee suffers individualized harm due to the failure to properly follow the notification rules, the employer may be liable.
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