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What I've Been Reading This Week


Work Closed Because of Storm - How Time Off & Paying Employees Works

This article goes through what employers and employees can expect to experience when an office closes because of weather and a question arises over whether the employees are entitled to be paid.  With winter storms sweeping across much of the country the past few weeks, including down south where it is not as common to experience work closures because of winter weather, this article provides a timely refresher.


Probationary Period For California Employees - How the ACA Comes Into Play

Nancy Yaffe makes note of how California employers are impacted by the Affordable Care Act ("ACA"), in regard to when employees now have to be provided healthcare benefits. While many probationary periods are ninety days, the ACA no longer permits employers to wait that full time period before offering healthcare benefits.  Under the ACA, California employers have to provide healthcare benefits to their employees within sixty days of hiring the employee.

As a result, there is now an accelerated period in which employers in California need to determine whether the employee is a good fit.  It is important for employers to note that terminating someone with healthcare benefits is often more costly and administratively burdensome than terminating someone without them.


Pregnancy - Grounds for FMLA Time Off?

Many employers will face a time where an employee becomes pregnant and has difficulty performing the usual job responsibilities as a result of the pregnancy.  The question then becomes, is FMLA leave proper for a pregnancy?  The answer is most likely yes.  This article discusses a recent case in which the court ultimately held that FMLA leave was proper, even though the employee was healthy, when a pregnancy limited what she could do on the job.

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What I've Been Reading This Week

Recently, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Commissioner, Chai Feldblum, had her re-nomination on the brink, after Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee took steps to block it .  Readers might have heard that late last week, Commissioner Feldblum's re-nomination quietly slipped away and she tweeted out a thank you to supporters and friends, acknowledging that her time at the EEOC was over.  While there has not been much in the way of a further update in regard to that ongoing saga, we wait to see how things will play out at the EEOC, now that it has lost a quorum until additional Commissioners are confirmed by the Senate. For the time being, there are other developments for readers to review this week.  In particular, I call attention to the article on managing a wage & hour audit by the Department of Labor as well as steps an employer can take to better ensure compliance with the ADA. As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week. ...
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