Navigating the Maze of ADA and FMLA Compliance - Part 1 of 4: Understanding FMLA

Why Should You Attend:

The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is an undeniably noble purpose: to help employees balance the demands of work with personal and family needs. Since the FMLA was enacted in 1993, millions of employees have relied on it to protect their jobs while taking time off to recover from a serious illness, to care for an ailing family member, or to bond with a new child. The FMLA has been amended several times since its enactment, most notably in 2008 to allow military family leave.

This first webinar in a four part series will tackle these questions and many more so that you will be able to build a fair leave policy that will stand the test of scrutiny. Parts 2, 3, and 4 as will tackle the ADA, workers’ compensation, and their interplay with the FMLA. This comprehensive, four part series includes information packed sessions that will provide complete coverage of all aspects of the federally-required FMLA and ADA compliance and best practices as well as how to administer these programs as they relate to other laws that affect leave administration within your organization. Attendees will learn practical strategies and procedural recommendations that will enable you to tackle the challenging FMLA and ADA issues you confront every day.

Learning Objectives:

• Quick overview to understand the law
• Employer responsibilities when complying with the law
• Designating leave
• Forms - which one to use and when
• Managing and administering FMLA
• Record-keeping requirements
• Policy pointers

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

• Quick guide to understanding the law
• Revised regulations
• Special rules for school employees
• Definition of a “serious health condition”
• Who is a dependent, new rules for a covered spouse
• Employer responsibilities when complying with the law
• Leave for a serious health condition
• Leave for a new child
• Military family leave
• How much leave can an employee take?
• Forms - which one to use and when
• Certifications
• Leave administration
• Calculating the appropriate “leave year” and hours of service
• How to handle intermittent and reduced leave schedules
• Managing, tracking and ending leave
• Intermittent leave and controlling FMLA abuse
• Reinstatement
• Record-keeping requirements
• Policy pointers

Who Will Benefit:

• Human Resource Managers / Administration
• Benefit Specialists
• Supervisors
• Business Owners
• General Managers
• Risk Managers
• Controllers/ CFOs / Financial Managers

Instructor Profile:

Cathleen Hampton has more than 25 years of experience as a human resources professional providing subject matter expertise in areas such as human capital and work force planning. She has a unique ability to analyze operations for risk and help maneuver cultural practices and compliance enhancements that would increase organizational outcomes. Risk as defined as financial, operational, as well as from a more general workforce planning perspective. As a dyed in the wool HR professional, she continually looks for ways to capture the essence of strategic thought as it would relate to human capital and workforce planning. She is noted for launching new programs focused on talent acquisition and retention strategies that outpaced major completion through strong and decisive business leadership.

Topic Background:

According to responding companies, surveys consistently demonstrate the Act has had no noticeable effect on business profitability or growth. However, surveys also reveal that some managers and HR professionals have difficulty administering FMLA designated leave. To back that up, experience has shown that it can be difficult to apply the FMLA when dealing with employees in the real world. For example, do you know what to do in the following situations?

• An employee who needs leave is also covered by workers’ compensation, a state family and medical leave law, and/or the Americans with Disabilities Act – and the requirements of those laws appear to conflict with the FMLA.
• An employee asks for time off but won’t tell you why or is reluctant to reveal personal medical information that much entitle the employee to leave.
• An employee wants to take FMLA at your company’s busiest time of year.
• An employee wants to take time off as needed for a chronic ailment, rather than all at once, and can’t comply with your company’s usual call-in procedures.
• An employee doesn’t give exactly the right amount or type of notice, forgets to hand in a medical certification form, or can’t return to work as scheduled.
• An employee decides, after taking FMLA, not to come back to work.

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