Every employee has the right to expect his or her private health information to be considered private. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) mandates that a worker’s disability status be kept confidential. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act also mandates that a person’s medical information remain
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Jokes about an employee’s disability are no laughing matter, as employers across the nation are learning. Not only are they inherently insensitive, but they may create a “hostile work environment” that could lead the employee to lodge a complaint resulting in a financial award to the worker
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Less than 20 years ago, South Dakota employers had no obligation to make any kinds of accommodations for disabled employees. Those were the pre-ADA days. ADA is the Americans with Disabilities Act, a major piece of federal legislation passed in 1990. It applies to most South Dakota
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There is no Connecticut law requiring paid sick leave. Union contracts may require that employees receive paid sick leave. If an employer has a written policy or past practice of providing paid sick leave, they may be obligated to provide it. Because of contracts that require it
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Employees are not “entitled” to sick time in Ohio or anywhere else in the U.S. Simply put, no state or federal law requires employers to offer paid sick time to workers. If an employer does choose to offer it, usually the employer sets the policies regarding sick
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Many companies in Nevada and elsewhere in the U.S. have policies for paid sick leave. They have determined that it is best to protect the income of those workers who are genuinely too ill to work. Some companies offer sick pay because they must honor a union contract requiring
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There is no law in Alaska that requires employers to offer paid sick leave to workers. No state mandates paid sick leave, although several have considered taking that measure. Nor does the federal government require sick leave payment. Paid sick leave was originally established through union negotiations.
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Many workers in New Jersey and elsewhere in the U.S. are under the impression that they are legally entitled to paid sick leave. This is an erroneous assumption. There is not a single state in the Union that requires paid sick leave. No federal law demands it.
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A full-time employee returns to work in Tennessee after being on FMLA leave for ten weeks. Her employer informs her she no longer has a job, because the company laid off half its work force while she was gone. Is that legal? In most cases, the answer
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The U. S. Department of Labor states that employers are within their rights to establish their own policies regarding use of paid leave before charging time off to FMLA leave. The Department of Labor also reports that West Virginia employers, in certain situations, are allowed to deduct
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A full-time Mississippi employee recently returned from 10 weeks of FMLA leave to find she no longer had a job. Is that legal? No. FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) leave is unpaid and job-protected, which means the employer must give the returning worker the same job,
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Sue is a full-time employee in Colorado out on 8 weeks of FMLA leave. When she returns to work, must she return to the same job, or can her employer put her in another position? The answer depends on the duties of the other position. Under FMLA
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FMLA leave provides eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for childbirth, and for a worker’s serious illness. According to the U. S. Department of Labor, some Arizona employers are allowed to deduct any paid leave from this 12 week total. For example,
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If an employee returns to work after 10 weeks of FMLA leave, can her supervisor cut her hours in half? No. Under the FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act), an employee’s job is protected, and he or she must return to the same job, or to a
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An Rhode Island employee returns to work after 10 weeks of FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) leave to find that her supervisor has hired someone else, and can only give her half her normal hours. The Human Resources department says by law the employer must give the employee
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Employers in Virginia must take into account the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 when deciding whether to grant unpaid leave to employees. Under this act, employees are entitled to take time away from work for some health issues and family life events. These
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In Texas, employees are covered under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. This law protects an employee’s employment for up to 12 weeks while the employee is away from work to care for an eligible family or medical need. The act does not provide for any
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Employees in all 50 states are covered by the FMLA. In some states there is additional coverage provided by the state for family or medical leave, however, in Arizona there is not. Several other states have added additional employee benefits to those provided by the Family and Medical
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Some Indiana employees may wonder how much time they can take off from work to care for medical or family needs, and still keep their jobs. The answer for most employees would be 12 weeks, but that time might be extended significantly because of other extenuating circumstances.
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The federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, provides job protection for Mississippi employees. Mississippi is like most other states. There is no state law that offers job protection if an employee must be away from work for an extended period to care for a medical or
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The American’s with Disabilities Act of 1990 as well as other federal laws govern how employers in Nevada handle access to confidential employee files containing medical information. This information must be kept separate from employee personnel files. There is no specific set of guidelines or regulations that
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Tennessee employees with short term disability benefits normally are covered by private insurance, because there is no state disability plan. In California , Rhode Island , Hawaii , New York , and New Jersey short term disability benefits are provided under a state plan, this is not
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Maryland employers should be aware that they are required to take whatever action is necessary to ensure that access to files containing confidential employee information—including medical information — be properly restricted. By law, medical information or information on any disability must be kept in a separate file from other
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Many employees in Missouri have questions about short term disability. Part of the confusion is a result of the fact that there is no state plan for STD, as there is in some states. The reality is that STD plans in Missouri are essentially private insurance plans even if
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Oregon employers must take the protection of confidential employee files very seriously. There are those situations where these files are kept in maintenance closets, unlocked office areas, or even client waiting areas. Employers who allow such a set up to continue are asking for trouble. Federal legislation,
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Many Louisiana employees wonder if they can be take short term disability more than once per year. And, can an employee be terminated while on short term disability? In Louisiana , as in most states, short term disability payments are provided to employees by private insurance carriers.
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Employees in Massachusetts are protected against a broad spectrum of discrimination on the job site. This protection must be maintained by the employer whose responsibility it is to insure that his or her company complies with federal laws and regulation. Included in the vast array of federal
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Short term disability benefits and FMLA leave can sometimes overlap and create confusing situations for Florida employees and employers. Because of the potential confusion about these employee benefit programs, both the employer and employee need to have a good understanding of their particular set of circumstances and
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In Maine short term disability benefits are normally paid by private insurance carriers. The plans are often purchased through the employer, but they are not state or federal programs. This is an important distinction, because the benefits that are provided vary from plan to plan. The best
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The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), passed in 1990, was a significant landmark for disabled workers.
Before its passage, employers had no legal obligation to provide access to disabled workers or to make other workplace adjustments that would make it possible for them to perform their work appropriately.
