Robert Dietrich
Robert Dietrich 
The author says that while the Family Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act are separate laws, they complement each other under certain conditions. He advises managers to be aware of the nuances of each law to properly determine when to apply each law in personnel situations.
The author says that most of the time, managers should not deny FMLA requests, but he says there are some rare instances when it is prudent to do so.
“Suitability” refers to identifiable character traits and conduct sufficient to decide whether an individual is likely or not likely to be able to carry out the duties of a federal job with appropriate integrity, efficiency, and effectiveness. The author considers some recent, real-life examples of why this is important.
The FMLA laws can be confusing. The author poses a hypothetical scenario to help explain what would happen for an employee who requests FMLA leave because her adult daughter was injured in an accident.
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires an agency to reasonably accommodate the known physical or mental limitations of a qualified employee with a disability. But how does this factor into an employee’s attendance at work?
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of protected leave each year to care for a family member who has a serious health condition. The Department of Labor changed the law in June 2010 clarifying the definition of a son or daughter. The author offers explanation of the changes.
The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was enacted into law in 1993 to allow up to 12 weeks of time off for employees to care for themselves or immediate family members who had a serious medical condition. FMLA is not an antidiscrimination law, it is an entitlement law and a very complex one at that.
The author outlines some common scenarios he has seen employees take to try to “game the system” when using FMLA and some solutions for dealing with them.
In part III of the series on managing telework, the author addresses the questions that can arise with respect to telework and inclement weather.
In part II of the series on managing telework, the author examines the potential problems that telework can bring for compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
