The Essential Guide to Family & Medical Leave

Once again Nolo has published a fine legal guide. This one deals with the Family and Medical Leave Act, or FMLA for short, a federal statute that applies to many employees of mid size and large companies, businesses, and government. It allows for Maternity leave, care of sick relatives, time off when sick, and similar issues. The book is essentially a guide to who can apply for this leave, how it is done, rules regarding requesting the leave, and especially how to stay out of trouble. If not done properly, FMLA can get you fired. On the flip side, an employer can face a wrongful termination lawsuit if they handle the administration of the leave wrong. The book even includes Military Applications of FMLA. I recommend this book for both the employee and employer working in human resources to be sure FMLA is handled appropriately. It also includes an easy reference CD in a pouch. I have read several Nolo reference guides and they all provide superb advice and guidance written by experts in the field.

In the late `80s I was on a sort of policy congress for the place I worked, where employees were given at least the illusion of having a say in the way things were done. Our facility had a crazily generous attendance policy in which one could get up to seven no fault (don't ask, don't tell) attendance incidents, for a maximum of seven days each, and a rolling calendar where incidents would roll off in a 90 day incident free period. Of course there came a time when abuse of the system brought a required change (for example, some folks would call off the month of December to spend time with the family). The result was shocking to me in that it remained the same for everything except if you missed 14 days in a calendar year, you would be terminated. So still no fault, no excuse, 14 days. When I confronted the HR manager, with "so if an employee's kid or spouse has a serious health matter come up that's it?" They said, "Sorry, yes". With the early `90s, came the FLMA and corrected the issue, and while there are still abuses to the system, to be sure, it remains a more balanced system. Here in NOLO's book, HR and supervising managers, are not only clued into what is legal and what is not, but also they give advice on doing the right thing, which I think is above and beyond, and also praiseworthy. This is a handy and worthwhile guide. 5*

The Family Medical and Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993, amended in 2008, makes it possible for employees under certain situations to take unpaid leave, keep their benefits and protect their jobs. FMLA has applied to me as an employee, and even though I am not an HR professional, I have a role to play in its application at work. This law affects a lot of people. FMLA doesn't apply to all companies and not all employees are eligible. Many states provide additional coverage and modified definitions. Further, the employee and employer are required to meet certain communication standards (here's an area where many of us have not complied). You need just one good, comprehensive book, along with the requisite forms and spreadsheet, to avoid the minefield. This is it. Employers absolutely need this book. Compliance with FMLA is not voluntary. Situations occur where FMLA applies. Employees should know their rights and how to exercise them. Each side should be responsible to be informed as needed. In the overwhelming majority of cases, neither side will need to consult with an employment attorney, provided they can use this one book. That's real value. The authors, employment attorneys Lisa Guerin and Deborah England, convincingly demonstrate this is not something to manage ad hoc. Their concise book is 496 pages, significantly longer than their 1st edition before the law was amended. This book was written in such a manner as to be the one resource you need when an FMLA situation occurs. You can then follow the procedures presented in a simple manner, and also use the necessary forms on the CD. Separately, you can read this book prior to an FMLA situation just to make sure you have a foundational understanding. 10 Steps to FMLA Compliance: This book presents us with 10 Steps to compliance, and the chapters flow from there. This is an excellent way to present the material because the 10 Steps are in logical sequence. If FMLA does not apply, you may discover it in Step 1 or Step 2, for example, and conclude your case. There are slightly more chapters than Steps. That is because some definitional chapters are needed. An example is Chapter 4: What is a Serious Health Condition? The CD - ROM contains all the useful fillable forms an employer would need, a very useful spreadsheet for the calculations and documentation, and audio files to use as teaching tools. The CD is going to be very useful. The authors created a beautiful index and appendixes that are truly useful and well-written. I cannot imagine a more accessible book on this subject. Considering the new frugality imposed on business, one cannot call an employment law attorney over every matter. Economic realities force us to become more productive. Compliance with FMLA is properly done in-house. This NOLO book along with the CD makes it possible.

A must have read due to confusing aspects of FMLA that can get you in trouble quickly if you don't follow the rules. What started out as a straight-forward law has turned into a mishmash of regulations, exemptions and exceptions that can keep you guessing and making wrong decisions. As typical for Nolo products, up to date and informative.

This is a great book. I have to admit, I thought it was more for the employee. It is really more for the employer. So if you run a business or are thinking of getting into HR, this is a great guide for you.