My Current State: 

Nevada STD and Termination

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
Posted by Tamara
Nevada employees have two questions about short term disability. Can a worker be terminated while on short term disability? Can a worker go on short term disability more than once a year?

The answers to both of these questions depend on the terms of the short term ... continue reading

New Mexico STD and Termination

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
Posted by Tamara
Many employees wonder, can a New Mexico worker be terminated due to missing work while on short term disability?

In most cases, the answer is yes. Short term disability benefits do not guarantee an employee’s job. If the worker is away from work too much, the company, ... continue reading

Colorado Short Term Disability

Monday, May 18th, 2009
Posted by Tamara
The state of Colorado doesn’t guarantee income for employees on short-term disability. Neither does federal law. Many Colorado employees are concerned about their options if they become disabled.

The Social Security Administration offers paid short-term disability to employees, but the employee must be disabled for 5 months ... continue reading

Maternity Leave in Nebraska

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009
Posted by Tamara
Mary, a hypothetical administrative assistant working for a company in Nebraska, is taking maternity leave. The question is whether Mary or any other worker in her situation may be laid off or fired while taking FMLA leave.

The answer varies, depending on the circumstances.

Assume ... continue reading

Maternity Leave in Idaho

Monday, March 2nd, 2009
Posted by Tamara
In Idaho, a hypothetical employee who will be called Susan is working as an administrative assistant. She takes maternity leave.

While she is on leave, is it legal for her employer to lay her off or fire her?

The answer to the question will depend ... continue reading

Maternity Leave in Illinois

Friday, February 27th, 2009
Posted by Tamara
May an Illinois employer legally fire or lay off a worker who is on maternity leave?

The answer is that there are laws protecting workers on leave, and there are laws against singling out workers for a layoff or a firing because they are pregnant. If there ... continue reading

Maternity Leave in Michigan

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009
Posted by Tamara
In Michigan, employees who take maternity leave are protected by at least two federal laws from being singled out for firing or layoff.

There are circumstances, however, under which it is legal to lay off someone on family leave.

There are 11 states, in addition, ... continue reading

Maternity Leave in Mississippi

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
Posted by Tamara
Workers in Mississippi are protected by the federal FMLA, or Family and Medical Leave Act. They are also covered by another federal law, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA).

The question is whether or not Mississippi workers may ever be legally fired or laid off while they are ... continue reading

Maternity Leave in Maryland

Wednesday, February 4th, 2009
Posted by Tamara
Maryland employees ask, “Can a worker on maternity leave be fired or laid off?

The answer is, “It depends on the circumstances.”

The majority of states in the U. S. are covered under the federal FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993). This Act ... continue reading

Maternity Leave in Kansas

Monday, February 2nd, 2009
Posted by Tamara
The majority of the states in the U.S. are covered under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). Kansas is one of those states, but some workers are concerned about being fired or laid off while on maternity leave.

It is possible for an ... continue reading

Maternity Leave in Kentucky

Thursday, January 29th, 2009
Posted by Tamara
Eleven states have enacted their own family leave laws. In these states, including California, Hawaii, Oregon and others, the laws regarding family leave vary widely.

Kentucky, however, does not have its own family leave laws. Employees in Kentucky are concerned about being terminated while on maternity leave. ... continue reading

Returning to Work After FMLA in Wyoming

Sunday, January 18th, 2009
Posted by Tamara
An Wyoming full-time worker is due to return to her job after taking nine of the 12 weeks of annual FMLA leave she is entitled to.

On the day she comes back to work she discovers that her boss has decided to keep the worker who was ... continue reading

Returning to Work After FMLA in Georgia

Thursday, January 15th, 2009
Posted by Tamara
Employees are entitled to job protection when returning from their FMLA leave. All workers may under certain circumstances take up to 12 weeks of the unpaid leave annually. Qualifying conditions include tending to a personal illness or to the illness of an immediate family member or spouse. Employees may ... continue reading

Returning to Work After FMLA in Louisiana

Saturday, January 10th, 2009
Posted by Tamara
Lorraine is a full-time administrative assistant at a large ad agency. While she is on FMLA leave, the company suffers the loss of two of its major clients. The company is forced to reduce its secretarial staff of 20 to half-time hours. Normally, FMLA leave would guarantee that Lorraine ... continue reading

Returning to Work After FMLA in South Dakota

Friday, January 9th, 2009
Posted by Tamara
Is an employer in South Dakota legally allowed to cut a full-time worker’s hours to part-time in order to keep that employee’s replacement when the worker returns from FMLA leave?

The answer is usually no.

Whether in South Dakota or elsewhere in the U.S., the ... continue reading

Intermittent FMLA in North Carolina

Wednesday, January 7th, 2009
Posted by Tamara
Most workers and employers in North Carolina and elsewhere throughout the U.S. know that, under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), employees are legally entitled to up to 12 weeks yearly of unpaid, job-protected leave.

Some employees use the 12 weeks intermittently – that ... continue reading

Returning to Work After FMLA in Washington

Thursday, January 1st, 2009
Posted by Tamara
Arthur is a web developer working full-time for a large ad agency in Washington. While he’s taking his FMLA leave to care for his sick spouse, Arthur’s boss hires a part-time employee to do some of Arthur’s work. After 10 weeks, Arthur returns to his workplace, only to find ... continue reading

Intermittent FMLA in Hawaii

Sunday, November 30th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
New regulations for FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993) leave were released recently. They will go into effect on January 17, 2009. The U. S. Department of Labor made these changes as a result of concerns employers had about intermittent, unscheduled FMLA leave.

Prior to ... continue reading

Pennsylvania Short Term Disability

Friday, October 31st, 2008
Posted by Tamara
There is no federal law that guarantees income for Pennsylvania employees on short-term disability. Neither is there a state law in Pennsylvania to provide such benefits. Only five states (California, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Hawaii) have state laws, which require employers to provide short-term disability benefits. ... continue reading

Oklahoma FMLA

Sunday, June 29th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
According to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) an Oklahoma worker is entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid job protected leave to take care of an immediate family member who has a serious health condition,   or to bond with a newly adopted child, a newly placed foster ... continue reading

Maternity Leave in Tennessee

Wednesday, June 11th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
A worker on maternity leave has 12 weeks of unpaid job-protected leave guaranteed by the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.   In addition to the federal law, 11 states in the nation have their own family leave laws.   These states are Minnesota, New Jersey, Connecticut, Hawaii, ... continue reading

Maternity Leave in Wyoming

Friday, June 6th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides job protection for a worker on maternity leave.   There are 11 states in the U.S. that also have laws of their own regarding a worker taking a leave from work to take care of a newborn child.   These states ... continue reading

Maternity Leave in Delaware

Sunday, June 1st, 2008
Posted by Tamara
Category: Labor & Employment, Pregnancy Laws

In Delaware, a worker on maternity leave has her job protected under provisions of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act.   Although the 12 weeks are unpaid, the worker is able to return to a job with the same working ... continue reading

Maternity Leave in Alaska

Wednesday, May 28th, 2008
Posted by Tamara
The question of whether an employee on maternity leave in Alaska can lose her job is regulated by two different federal laws.  

The federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) bars an employer from terminating a woman simply because she is pregnant.   However, under the PDA a ... continue reading

South Dakota Job Security Under FMLA

Friday, May 2nd, 2008
Posted by Tamara
Employees in every state including South Dakota are protected under the FMLA. This federal act provides protection for an employee by requiring that the employee’s job be made available to that same employee when they return to work from approved family leave. An employer may provide a very similar ... continue reading

Montana Job Security Under FMLA

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008
Posted by Tamara
Employees in Montana are protected under the Family and Maternity Leave Act or FMLA. This federal act does not require an employee to “hold open” a job position while an employee is on leave. Many employees and employers have the mistaken impression that holding open a job is exactly ... continue reading

Intermittent FMLA in Michigan

Monday, April 21st, 2008
Posted by Tamara

Under the Family and Medical Leave Act or FMLA employees with a “serious health condition” are allowed to take unscheduled, unpaid leave. FMLA can also be used to take care of a family member with a serious health problem, a newborn, a newly adopted child or a new foster child ... continue reading

Intermittent FMLA in Maine

Friday, April 18th, 2008
Posted by Tamara

In February, 2008 the U.S. Department of Labor released new regulations regarding intermittent leave under FMLA. Employees now must follow their company’s usual policies regarding call-in procedures for FMLA absences. Employees are still permitted 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave per year provided they have worked at least 1,250 hours ... continue reading

Oklahoma Job Security Under FMLA

Thursday, April 17th, 2008
Posted by Tamara

If an employee goes on leave the FMLA, many employers in Oklahoma, as well as other states, are under the false assumption that they are not allowed to fill that position. That misconception is in no way true. This is a fact that employees also need to know.

The ... continue reading

Intermittent FMLA in Kentucky

Thursday, April 17th, 2008
Posted by Tamara

Because of new regulations by the United States Department of Labor, employees must now follow regular call-in procedures if they need to take an unscheduled FMLA absence from work. Prior to the new rule that went into effect in February of 2008, employees were not required to follow the company’s ... continue reading