FMLA and ADA friends:
You’ve known me long enough to appreciate that I don’t engage in a whole lot of shameless self-promotion. Well, ok, some, but not so distasteful that you’ve given up on me, right?
So, can you indulge me one time?
Over the past several years, you are facing increasingly difficult FMLA, ADA and state leave issues, and you likely have limited internal resources to help. Some of you have modest-sized HR and legal staffs, and you could use the outside help when these difficult issues arise. Others of you just don’t have the time to deal with the minutiae of leave and accommodation issues, and you want these issues addressed by someone with the expertise to handle them efficiently. All of you are dealing with loads of leave and accommodation issues unlike ever before.
All of you have grown weary of running up costly and unpredictable legal bills, and you need an alternative.
Here is your alternative.
My “CALM” service — Compliance in Accommodations and Leave Management — is a flat fee monthly retainer in which I assist employers with day-to-day FMLA and state leave as well as ADA questions. Under my “CALM” service, I provide employers and third party administrators practical guidance and clear direction on the most complex and difficult leave management and accommodation questions you face, answers to which you won’t find online or even with a ton of research. You and I develop the arrangement in a manner that works best for you – whether it’s a series of short calls, quick email communications, or several calls or emails that require longer, strategic discussions. The arrangement is flexible, allowing you to designate the individual(s) to contact us directly.
Just as important, this monthly retainer allows you to address critical leave and accommodation issues with the same, predictable legal cost month after month.
Examples of Issues Covered by my CALM Service
Over the past few months, the following is a sampling of the questions I have helped employers address with our CALM service:
- How to deal with FMLA administration where an employee returns certification after the 15-day deadline or never returns one at all
- Helping an employer determine whether an employee’s strange behavior was actually a request for leave or an accommodation
- Administering FMLA leave in a workforce where employees hours vary from week to week
- Whether a TPA should designate an absence as FMLA leave where an employee sought leave to care for a spouse, but where the only “caring for” function was babysitting the kids (this issue is hardly a slam dunk – it required discussion and analysis of the Gienapp case, which I highlighted in a previous blog entry)
- Best practices in applying the qualifying exigency regulations where an employee sought rest/recuperation leave upon her spouse’s return from military service
- Providing critical guidance to an employer in responding to DOL inquiries during an audit of FMLA administration
- Addressing potential light duty accommodations for a pregnant room attendant at a luxury hotel who was placed on restrictions throughout her pregnancy
- Helping employers draft and revise model correspondence to an employee seeking a workplace accommodation
- Reviewing a customized FMLA medical certification form and reasonable accommodation questionnaire an employer wanted to implement for its multi-state locations
- Answering intermittent leave questions under the Massachusetts paid FMLA leave law, and other similar state laws
Access to Monthly Leave and Accommodation Updates!
My CALM clients also have the opportunity to receive monthly updates on any new state and local leave or accommodation law that was enacted within the previous month. The monthly updates provide extensive summaries on these new laws and highlights those laws that have been passed by the state/local legislature and await the Governor’s or chief executive’s signature.
How Do We Begin?
Let’s discuss this service further! Email me at jnowak@littler.com.