leave of absence Archives - EMPLOYEE BENEFITS BLOG

How Does the FMLA Apply to a Remote Workforce?

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was enacted in 1993, a year when the idea of working a corporate job from a living room was rare. When the law was passed, the FMLA didn’t contemplate a remote workforce. Now, and especially post-pandemic, many companies are embracing a fully remote workforce (e.g., sales representatives, healthcare medical device technicians and software engineers). While employees’ needs for a leave of absence have always been around, remote employment and its effects on the applicability of the FMLA requirements has not. For well over two years, many employees have been working from home. Some report to a manager at the headquarters or worksite. Plenty of remote employees, however, report to an individual who also works remotely. The new remote landscape is making what used to be an easy application of FMLA eligibility into a difficult analysis. This article examines the FMLA regulatory framework for remote employees, a recent Texas federal court decision on the issue and the practical options that employers have moving forward.

Read more here.

Live Audio Conference: Why Is This Guy Still on My Health Plan?

Lorman Education Services Live Audio Conference

Why Is This Guy Still on My Health Plan?
September 26, 2011
1:00 pm (EST), (12:00 p.m. [CST], 11:00 a.m. [MST], 10:00 a.m. [PDT])

1 hour 30 minutes

Instructor: Amy Gordon, Co-Chair of McDermott Will & Emery’s Health and Welfare Benefits Group

Companies have encountered many situations where an employee remains on the company’s health benefits as an active employee for many years past the date in which the employee was actively at work for the company, both intentionally and unintentionally. This live audio conference will answer a common problem employers experience: what date should an employee be treated as a terminated employee when he/she is on a leave of absence or fails to return from a leave of absence, and how does this coordinate with the company-provided health and welfare benefits? This program will discuss the legal issues surrounding a leave of absence. It will explore how an employee may fall through the cracks and how to possibly change the administrative process. Finally, the program will address some of the potential pitfalls given the new Health Care Reform rules.

This live audio conference is designed for human resource managers, benefits administrators, payroll managers, controllers, CFOs, presidents, vice presidents, business and office managers, insurance professionals and attorneys.

Click here to register for the audio conference.

To receive a 20% discount courtesy of McDermott Will & Emery, please enter this code: 9696163.