Business & Legal Reports Hosts: Family Leave in California: How to Catch (and Prevent) Abuses of FMLA and CFRA While Treating Your Employees Fairly

For many employees, the benefits granted by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) are a lifesaver - giving them the chance to balance their workloads with their responsibilities at home. And most workers act in an honorable manner and don’t try to exploit the system. Unfortunately, some workers do try to take unfair advantage, at the expense of both their honest co-workers and their organization’s productivity.

Spotting and catching the abusers without landing in hot water yourself is not easy. Do you know the safest legal way to question an employee’s FMLA leave request? What do you do if a worker simultaneously claims time off under the family leave laws and other laws (e.g., workers’ compensation, the Americans with Disabilities Act)? Do you know how to properly keep track of intermittent leave? Or when you can ask for a second, or even a third, medical opinion – and who pays for it? What do you do with employees who say they’re not ready to return to work when their leave expires?

It’s one strike and you’re out on questions like these - because any mistake could lead to an expensive, damaging lawsuit and negative publicity.

Seyfarth Shaw attorney, Jeff Wortman, will be presenting an informative 90-minute audio conference on November 27 on how to deal with FMLA abuses. You’ll learn proven strategies for anticipating and managing family and medical leave requests, as well as the most common mistakes employers make in the process. And, we’ll discuss the do's and don’ts of deterring family and medical leave abuses without affecting the morale of the rest of your workforce or exposing yourself to legal challenges.

You and Your Colleagues Will Learn:

How to accurately determine which employees qualify for FMLA leaves (and when) Recommended procedures for responding to, and documenting, leave requests The most common errors HR managers make with FMLA requests - and how you can avoid repeating them When you must reinstate employees returning from leave - and when you may terminate them The legal rules governing FMLA-related medical exams and inquiries Practical tips for handling the increased workload during employee leaves (and how you can effectively re-integrate those employees into your operations when they return) The red flags that trigger your FMLA obligations, even when employees never mention “FMLA” or “family leave” by name How far you should go in disciplining employees who abuse the system How to create a workplace environment that discourages abuses of the family leave laws.

Please register by clicking here.