The FMLA - An Employer's Guide to Compliance and Employee Abuse

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a labor law requiring employers of a certain size to provide employees with unpaid time off for serious family health issues or situations.
Qualified reasons may include adoption, pregnancy, foster care placement, family or personal illness, or military leave. It also provides for the continuation of insurance coverage and job protection while the employee is on leave. The FMLA is intended to provide families with the time and resources to deal with family emergencies, while also guiding employers.

It starts with understanding the basic requirements for employers and employees. Which employers are covered under the FLSA? When are employees eligible for its benefits? Employers are required to inform employees of these rights, as well as keeping them notified after requests for leave are made. Further, employers need to understand how employees certify their illness and schedule the time off.

This webinar is designed to go well beyond the regulatory requirements of the FMLA. Employers need to know what information needs to be kept for proper recordkeeping. Leave calculation can and does conflict and correlate with other Federal Acts such as the ADA and COBRA, and other benefits such as workers compensation. Learn when leave applies to which. You will also know which states have acts that extend other leave rights to employees beyond the FMLA.

Compliance with the FMLA takes a coordinated effort between employers, HR and managers. You must be able to recognize what triggers an FMLA leave request, and the proper actions to take to enroll and certify employees. Complexities are inherent for intermittent leave requests, mental health issues and remote employees. Learn best practices from experts, including a compliance checklist to follow throughout the process from and employee’s leave to work return.

• FMLA Regulation Summary
  • General Requirements on Leave Amounts and Qualifying Medical Conditions
  • Which employees are eligible for the benefits
  • Which employers are covered by the FMLA
  • What notices are required by employers for employees - Posting, Eligibility, Rights and Responsibilities, Designation
  • How employees certify illnesses and conditions
  • Scheduling and Calculating Leave Hours - 12 month period, accrual and usage
  • Where to get more information if needed
• Recordkeeping
  • What information needs to be kept and available for inspection. – payroll, policies, certifications, acceptance and denial of requests
  • Confidentiality requirements
• Interaction with other Federal Acts
  • How and when to credit leave under each act vs FMLA
  • ADA, PDA, COBRA,
• Interaction with State Requirements
  • Requirements of many states that go beyond the FMLA for the benefit of employees. What categories the differences occur
  • A list of acts by states
• Complying with the FMLA
  • What triggers and FMLA request and actions to take
  • Certification problems such as illness eligibility and length of leave
  • Incomplete certification and other issues
  • Intermittent Leave for Chronic Conditions, Ongoing Treatment, etc
  • Qualifying mental health conditions
  • Remote and Hybrid Employees
• How to Handle Employee Abuse
  • The difference between fraud and abuse
  • Examples of employee abuse
  • Red Flags that alert employers to possible abuse
  • Preventing, Identifying and Responding to abuse

• HR Managers and HR Generalists
• Employee Relations Specialists
• Benefits Administrators
• Compliance and Policy Officers
• Payroll Managers
• In-House Legal Counsel (Employment Law)
• Leave of Absence Coordinators
• Labor Relations Managers
• Business Owners and Office Managers
• Risk Management Professionals
• Supervisors and Department Heads
• Operations Managers involved in workforce scheduling

Mark Schwartz is an employment tax specialist and has over 15 years of employment tax experience as an independent consultant and as a payroll tax auditor with the State of California. He has managed an audit caseload of 20 ongoing audits, from small home-based businesses to large multi-national corporations. He is expert at defining regulatory and statutory requirements from local, State and Federal government agencies; and helping the average businessperson understand what that mean to their business. He has processed weekly and bi-weekly payroll checks plus tax forms for businesses with hourly as well as exempt workers, multistate operations and a wide variety of benefits.

Mr. Schwartz provides consulting services encompassing payroll processing and payroll tax issues. These include payroll tax minimization, payroll tax compliance reviews, independent contractor studies, use of electronic transfers, deductions, benefits, etc. Mark has represented both clients and the State in front of the State Appeals Board. He understands the complexities of local wage laws, unemployment and disability claims, and other wage and benefit issues affecting your employees.

Mark prides himself on his outstanding customer service skills. He listens attentively to his clientele, helping them bridge the gap between the small business world and Government bureaucracy. He eagerly assists with clients needs, and feels that educating clients toward faster, accurate and more complete payroll processes provides the most value.

Mark is a participating member of the American Payroll Association. He earned his BA and MBA in Finance at Santa Clara University. He has held Certified Internal Auditor and Certified Investment and Derivatives Auditor Credentials. Mark is currently pursuing a Certified Payroll Fundamentals Credential with the American Payroll Association.