Dear Colleague:

Chalk it up to the price of success.

Your company is one of America’s 300,000 firms with 50 or more employees. Congratulations! You’re the backbone of our economy – and Congress has rewarded you by passing the Family and Medical Leave Act and applying it to your company. Which means:

• Your employees are entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid, job protected leave each year for various reasons – but what exactly are those reasons, and just how do you calculate those 12 weeks?

• Employees who abuse FMLA can kill your company’s productivity and anger other employees who pull their own weight (along with the weight of the slackers). How can you determine what’s abuse and what isn’t?

• You could be exposing your company to a lawsuit every time you make an FMLA-related decision. How can you be confident you’re doing the right thing – without calling a lawyer and starting the clock on billable time?

At some companies, there’s even a question about whether you have 50 employees in the first place. Are they located within 75 miles of the “work site”? Do you have to count temporary and part-time people?


Make no mistake, the FMLA Compliance Guide is concise but also complete. You’ll learn the seven issues you must cover – in writing – when an employee requests FMLA leave … whether you can legally fire someone on leave … and an amazingly simple strategy to keep employees from taking 24 weeks of back-to-back leave.

You’ll have concrete answers to all of your most perplexing FMLA questions, with actionable knowledge backed by the trusted expertise of Business Management Daily.

Some folks in Washington claim the FMLA is simple, straightforward and easy to understand. If you believe that, we’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn for sale. Instead, get the FMLA Compliance Guide for something that really is easy to understand – on a topic where understanding is vital to your company’s health.

A lot of HR pros and other supervisors think they’re up to speed on the FMLA, including the recent changes. How about you? Pop quiz:

• Can you be held personally liable for violating the FMLA?

• If you fail to designate time off for a workers’ comp injury as FMLA leave, can the employee take 12 weeks of additional leave?

• Can an employee take 24 straight weeks of leave unless your policy forbids it?

• Can you define a “serious health condition”? How about a series of mild illnesses—does that qualify an employee for FMLA leave?

• In an emergency, can an employee claim FMLA leave without informing someone at work?

• Does treatment for substance abuse qualify an employee for FMLA leave?

• Can you require an employee to return to work early from FMLA leave if you offer a “light duty” assignment?

This is a quiz where every answer must be correct. The same goes for any FMLA-related question that comes up in your workplace, so you and your company can avoid legal jeopardy.

Fortunately you’ll find all the answers in the FMLA Compliance Guide. Dependable answers, because the guide is written by Matthew S. Effland, a shareholder with the prestigious nationwide law firm of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak and Stewart, P.C.

Mr. Effland often consults on complex areas of employment law, including FMLA compliance, and he’s a regular speaker at the Society for Human Resource Management’s annual conference. He also presents the popular FMLA webinar series for Business Management Daily. When it comes to FMLA expertise, he’s your man.

Whether you’re an HR novice, a jack- or jill-of-all-trades who serves as part-time HR supervisor, or a dedicated HR professional, the FMLA Compliance Guide will open your eyes to new strategies, show you the path around legal landmines and help you ensure compliance – without crippling your company by going too far.

It’s easy to stay in compliance if all you do is grant leave whenever anyone asks for it. But what does that do for your company’s productivity? And for the morale of the people still on the job and working harder than ever?

The FMLA Compliance Guide gives you the knowledge and confidence to do what’s required and no more. The employee sitting across your desk and demanding FMLA leave won’t be in charge; you will. Because you’ll know:

• How to kick-start the 12-week FMLA meter

• The one situation where you can legally deny reinstatement after FMLA leave (yes, there’s just one)

• 4 tests to determine if several closely held companies count toward the 50-employee minimum that triggers compliance

• When you can expect to receive money back from an employee on FMLA leave – you read that right: money back!

• The simple formula for determining whether a part-time employee is eligible under the law

• The 3 most important steps you can take to make sure your company is in compliance (if you do nothing else, do these – and sleep better)

• How to prove you acted in “good faith” and avoid paying heavy damages – not quite “lawsuit-proofing” your company, but close!

One more big reason to get the FMLA Compliance Guide: It’s completely updated with the recent rules applying to employees who are in the military … have been in the military … or have family members in the military. You need a handy reference for these important new rules – in fact, for all the FMLA rules applying to everyone.

We all want to support our troops and their families, but exactly what support must employers provide? This issue raises a lot of questions:

• What “qualifying exigencies” entitle an employee to FMLA leave for active-duty family members? Is overseas deployment required?

• What activities regarding a family member in the military will trigger FMLA eligibility for an employee? Attending military ceremonies? Providing child care? Making financial and legal arrangements? Sharing time for rest and recuperation? (Hint: That list is just the beginning.)

• What are the rules for caregivers of family members with a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty? What constitutes “next of kin”? What are the two separate leave periods employers now must track? How much total FMLA leave can be taken in any one year? (The amount will surprise you.)

The FMLA Compliance Guide covers these topics and many more. We’ve made the guide complete because with any FMLA issue, military or not, the stakes are high and the burden of compliance is yours. A worker requesting leave does not have to mention FMLA. It’s up to you to determine whether the requested leave falls under FMLA, and to provide the proper notifications within specified time periods.

If a worker successfully files a lawsuit against your company, you could end up paying back wages and benefits, plus the employee’s attorney fees and court costs – or double the entire amount if a court deems your violations were willful. Plus your own attorney fees on top of that!


That’s why I respectfully urge you to order the FMLA Compliance Guide. Scan it for a quick overview. Consult it in depth when you have a question on a specific topic. Make sure the next FMLA decision you make is the right decision.

The risk of not getting the guide? Simply too high. Please, order now. 


Sincerely,



Phillip A. Ash
Publisher

P.S. The FMLA has been around for several years now. Most employees know about it – in fact, you have a responsibility to inform them. But shouldn’t you know more than they do?

To protect your company from FMLA abuse – and yourself from personal liability – have a copy of the FMLA Compliance Guide on hand. I think you’ll be surprised how often you consult it.

Remember, you’ll have our 100% money-back guarantee. Unlike with the FMLA, there are no questions asked, no red tape. Just a cheerful refund.

P.P.S. I thought you might like to see the Table of Contents from the FMLA Compliance Guide. It really does cover everything!

Executive Summary
FMLA Regulations
Covered Employers
Eligible Employees
Continuation of Benefits
Notification Deadlines
‘Serious Health Condition’
Reinstating a Worker
Compliance Headaches
FMLA Forms: Online Resources
10 Compliance Tips

1. The ‘New’ FMLA Regulations
1. ‘12-Month’ Eligibility Requirement
2. Timing of Doctor Visits
3. Work-Related Bonuses
4. Notice Requirements
5. Employer Obligations
6. Employee Obligations
7. Medical Certification
8. Settlement of FMLA Claims
9. Active-Duty Leave: Military Families
10. Caregiver Leave: Military Families

2. Determining Coverage and Eligibility
Are You a Covered Employer?
Which Employees Are Eligible?
Part-Timers and Temps
Determining the FMLA Year
The Paper Chase: Tracking Leave Time and Eligibility

3. Critical Questions on Employee Coverage
Defining ‘Serious Health Condition’
    Does substance abuse qualify?
    Can several illnesses add up to one serious health condition?
Notice Requirements
Notifying Employee of FMLA Leave
The Difference Between ‘Medical’ and ‘Family’ Leave
Medical Certification
Who Is a ‘Health Care Provider’?
Health Benefits Continue
When a Worker Returns…
    Don’t tamper with benefits
    An exception to reinstatement: key employees
Retaliation Is Illegal

4. Military Leave
Active-Duty Leave
Caregiver Leave

5. Frequently Asked Questions

6. Recent Court Rulings
Earning FMLA Eligibility
Notice Requirements
Defining ‘Serious Health Condition’
Damages
Supervisor Liability
Other Legal Issues