DOL Requires Employers to Use New FMLA Poster, Publishes Guide to Help Employers Administer FMLA

Franczek P.C.
Contact

Earlier today, the Department of Labor announced that it soon will require employers across the country to post a new DOL general FMLA Notice in their workplaces.  In issuing this new directive, the agency also unveiled a new guide to help employers navigate and administer the FMLA.  Here’s the scoop:

New DOL Poster

Under the FMLA, an FMLA-covered employer must post a copy of the General FMLA Notice in each location where it has any employees (even if there are no FMLA-eligible employees at that location). According to the FMLA rules, the notice must be posted “prominently where it can be readily seen by employees and applicants for employment.”

The DOL has announced that employers soon will be required to post a new General FMLA Notice in its workplaces.  According to the DOL, the new poster won’t necessarily include a whole bunch of new information.  Rather, the information in the notice will be reorganized so that it’s more reader friendly.

As soon as the new poster goes public (including effective date for posting), I will update this post.

New Employer FMLA Guide

In 2012, the DOL issued a guide to employees to help them navigate their rights under the FMLA.  Several years later, DOL now has issued a companion guide for employers.  According to the DOL, the Employer’s Guide to the Family and Medical Leave Act (pdf) is designed to “provide essential information about the FMLA, including information about employers’ obligations under the law and the options available to employers in administering leave under the FMLA.”

The new guide was unveiled by the DOL’s Branch Chief for FMLA, Helen Applewhaite, at an annual FMLA/ADA Compliance conference sponsored by the Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC). Generally speaking, the new guide covers FMLA administration from beginning to end, and it follows a typical leave process — from leave request through medical certification and return to work.

As for the Guide itself, my initial take is that it will be a decent resource for the employer community. I also appreciate the fact that the DOL asked me and a couple of other leaders on the employer side in the FMLA space to offer constructive feedback before the guide was released. At the time, I encouraged the agency to tackle in its guide some difficult FMLA administration issues that employers grapple with, feedback of which did not make its way into the DOL’s final draft (nor did I expect it, I suppose!).

While the guide helps explain the FMLA regulations in a user-friendly manner, the Guide primarily is meant to answer common questions about the FMLA, so it leaves unanswered leave issues that continue to frustrate employers in their administration of the FMLA.  However, the Guide is likely to have some benefit to employers when administering the FMLA.  For instance, the Guide:

  1. Follows the FMLA regulations and the course of a typical leave request in a relative orderly manner.
  2. Contains easy to follow flowcharts so that employers can better understand the typical FMLA process, including a cute little “Road Map to the FMLA” [yes, I think I just called the DOL “cute”] that provides an overview of the FMLA process.  You’ll even find some interactive cartoons along the way to further explain the regulations.
  3. Includes “Did You Know?” sections to give employers a heads-up on some of the lesser-known provisions and nuances of the FMLA regulations.
  4. Highlights user-friendly charts and explanation of the medical certification process, including what information is required in certifications.
  5. Provides a helpful overview of military family leave, which often can be a bit overwhelming to employers attempting to navigate this portion of the FMLA.

I welcome feedback on the new guide — what do you like?  Dislike?

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.

© Franczek P.C. | Attorney Advertising

Written by:

Franczek P.C.
Contact
more
less

Franczek P.C. on:

Reporters on Deadline

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
Custom Email Digest
- hide
- hide