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Employees who are absent for an FMLA-covered reason are required to provide employers with enough information in their notice to demonstrate the need for FMLA leave. Most employers expect the employee to call in before the beginning of the shift, mentioning FMLA leave. But what happens if you count the absence against the employee because she only reported that she was ill?

We have a team member who currently has a certified intermittent FMLA in progress, stating she could have to have up to six episodes for her condition per year. She is having more frequent episodes that are lasting longer than usual and was recently hospitalized for a short time. Should we ask to have an updated certificate of health-care provider done?

Want to make sure discipline sticks? Then details matter. It’s far easier to defend a termination decision if you can show the court that you specifically pointed out the employee’s work problems and offered an opportunity to improve instead of simply terminating her.

Despite the existence of two laws prohibiting discrimination against pregnant women—the passage of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act in 1978, then the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act in 2023—employers continue to ignore these laws. Now, the EEOC has taken notice and litigation is ramping up, as one court case proves.

Should the judge rule for the employer, the EEOC would effectively be unable to file new systemic-discrimination cases against employers until the EEOC reaches a quorum.

The DOL has proposed eliminating the agency by cutting funding and staff other than those programs that add veterans and enforce the Rehabilitation Act.

A federal court has reinstated a Georgia police detective’s case against her employer after she produced evidence the police department regarded her as disabled when she was not.

As a recent case shows, employees with intermittent leave certifications for serious health conditions that may flare up from time to time are entitled to more time off than the estimate. Holding an employee strictly to the certification and terminating that employee for missing more work may backfire badly.

Title VII provides that employees are entitled to reasonable accommodations for their sincerely held religious beliefs and practices. But what is a sincerely held belief? And how far can employers go to challenge that assertion?

As the White House deploys National Guard units to cities like Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., in increasing numbers, now is a good time for employers to review their obligations under two federal laws: the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act.