Ellen McLaughlin Featured in the Daily Labor Report
"New FMLA Regulations Clarify, Change Requirements, Definitions, Eligibility Rules"

Ellen McLaughlin was featured in the article, "New FMLA Regulations Clarify, Change Requirements, Definitions, Eligibility Rules," published in the January 15, 2009 issue of the Daily Labor Report. The article reported that the DOL's new Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) regulations, effective January 16, 2009, contain several changes that differ significantly from what employees and employers are used to, according to speakers at an American Law Institute-American Bar Association teleconference.

Ellen was cited throughout the article discussing the various new provisions, such as military caregiver leave, qualifying exigency leave, and intermittent leave, and how each will effect employers. For instance, according to Ellen, the military caregiver provisions of the new FMLA regulations do not apply to service members who wish to take leave to care for themselves. She also noted that qualifying exigency leave applies where an employee's spouse, child, or parent unexpectedly has been called to active duty because it contemplates an unanticipated call-up, it does not apply to members of the regular armed forces. In terms of the notification requirement, Ellen said, "notice of FMLA rights and responsibilities must be provided in a poster or general notice visible to employees and applicants, even at worksites were there are no employees eligible for FMLA leave." The regulations also provide that employees must notify their employers "as soon as practicable" in the case of foreseeable FMLA leave. Ellen called the change a "win-win" situation for employers and employees because employers now can require employees taking FMLA leave to notify a particular individual within the organization who knows the law and regulations, thus lessening the likelihood that leave will not be unreasonably denied.