If your employee count is increasing and your business will continue to scale at a record pace, there are new laws and guidelines to follow. Yes, reaching new heights for your company is certainly exciting. But with growth comes challenges. For instance, needing to know about, implement, and follow the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
When your employees need time off for family or medical issues, the FMLA is the governing act. How do you know if your business needs it? If your a certain type of company with 50 or more employees, the FMLA probably applies.
However, it is best to begin learning about, and start planning to employ the FMLA rules and benefits for your team before you hit the 50 or more headcount. That’s because, if you fail to follow the rules and guidelines set by the Family Medical Leave Act, you could find yourself in court, and your company at risk.
What is the Family Medical Leave Act, or FMLA?
The Family Medical Leave Act is for specific employees that meet certain requirements to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year. During that 12 weeks their position in the company is protected by law. The employee’s health benefits will remain in effect while on their FMLA absence as well.
FMLA aims to assist employees in work and life balance when it comes to certain life and family responsibilities. By giving employees the right to 12 weeks of unpaid leave with their job protected, they can handle family and/or medical issues without losing employment or medical benefits.
You can tackle all this on your own, or you can get help from the professionals. For instance, like the Reed Group FMLA administration. But either way you approach this important employee law, you need to get it done. Are you ready for FMLA in your company? To help you prepare, we compiled a list of four tips to getting FMLA right. Let’s dive in!
1. Have company-wide FMLA policies in writing, and in place
To ensure your entire team is aware of the Family Medical Leave Act, and that all are following the guidelines, get policies written down and in place on a company-wide level. This will help keep your business safe from potential lawsuits if guidelines are failed to be met by a management team member.
It also allows you to be very proactive in the process by informing your team about their employee rights when it comes to medical or family leave. For instance, if you have an employee that is going through a family emergency, but have been afraid to call in, because of possibly losing their job, you can inform them they are protected by law.
2. You absolutely need to know what is legal
There are situations when the FMLA does not apply. This makes it critical that you know what is appropriate legally. For instance, if an employee takes PTO for a surgery and wants to save his FMLA for an upcoming birth, you have the right as the employer to use the employees FMLA when you feel it fits.
However, you will need to really examine what should be considered PTO and what should be FMLA. And be sure to inform your team as well.
3. Be careful, FMLA has little idiosyncrasies to understand
It can be a big mistake to think that the Family Medical Leave Act is straightforward. With most government employment policies, it is anything but. In fact, FMLA has a few little idiosyncrasies to understand.
For instance, if an employee is tending to a family member who was injured due to military service, he or she can take up to 26 months of unpaid leave in a year’s time. Not knowing about that, and firing that employee, can land in a nasty lawsuit you will probably not win.
4. Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork!
Paperwork on FMLA leave is important every step of the way. You want to be sure that all paperwork is done correctly, documented, and filed appropriately. This can save your company if an employee files a lawsuit against your business for not following the law and procedures. It is hard to ignore documentation in court, so make sure you have all the paperwork.
In conclusion . . .
The Family Medical Leave Act is actually good. It allows employees to take care of important family and medical issues without worrying that they have a job afterward. Companies that take steps to make FMLA known and adhere to the act’s principles often find greater employee satisfaction. But there are those who try to take advantage, so be ready and know the ins and outs of FMLA.
