Archives: Leave of Absence

UPDATE: Texas Legislature and Courts Clash With Cities Over Mandatory Sick Leave: What Employers Need to Know

By Courtney Warren on November 26, 2019 Posted in Leave of Absence

This is an update to previous posts from June 24, 2019 and July 31, 2019. On Friday, November 22, Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai ordered that San Antonio’s paid sick leave ordinance, which was scheduled to take effect December 1, be delayed once again. Implementation of the ordinance was first delayed in July of this … Continue Reading

UPDATE: Texas Legislature and Courts Clash With Cities Over Mandatory Sick Leave: What Employers Need to Know

By Courtney Warren on July 31, 2019 Posted in Leave of Absence

This is an update to a previous post from June 24, 2019. Earlier today, Dallas became the last of the three Texas cities to face a legal challenge to its paid sick leave ordinance, which is scheduled to take effect this Thursday, August 1. The lawsuit and request for preliminary injunction were filed by two … Continue Reading

Paid Family and Medical Leave Is Coming to Oregon

By Jacob A. Bruner on July 30, 2019 Posted in Leave of Absence

Earlier this month, Oregon passed its own paid family and medical leave act (the act), making it the eighth state in the country to pass such a law. Oregon joins California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut and the District of Columbia in providing paid family and medical leave benefits to employees. In … Continue Reading

Texas Legislature and Courts Clash With Cities Over Mandatory Sick Leave: What Employers Need to Know

By Courtney Warren on June 24, 2019 Posted in Leave of Absence

Dallas has become the third city in Texas, following Austin and San Antonio, to pass a city ordinance requiring private-sector employers to offer paid sick leave to their employees. The ordinances have yet to be implemented in any of these cities. However, with the effective date of Dallas’ and San Antonio’s ordinances looming (and with … Continue Reading

Reminder: NJ Sick Leave Act Becomes Effective This Month

By Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo on October 22, 2018 Posted in Leave of Absence, New Jersey

Reminder – Earlier this year (as we reported in this post), the New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Act (NJPSLA) was approved. The NJPSLA mandates that employees will accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 40 hours of sick leave time during a consecutive 12-month period. … Continue Reading

Lessons Learned From the EEOC’s First Parental Leave Lawsuit

By Saima Sheikh on August 20, 2018 Posted in EEOC, Leave of Absence

In the U.S., many employers’ parental-leave programs prioritize birth mothers and offer limited benefits to fathers, adoptive parents, foster parents and LGBT parents. In 2015, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued Enforcement Guidance for Pregnancy Discrimination and Related Issues, which includes parental leave policies. However, not all employers have followed this guidance. Consequently, just … Continue Reading

Groundbreaking Austin Paid Sick Leave Ordinance to Take Effect This Fall

By Austin J. Brayley on July 9, 2018 Posted in Leave of Absence

In February 2018, the City of Austin, Texas became the first major southern city in the United States to enact a private sector paid sick and safe leave ordinance. The ordinance, which takes effect on Oct. 1, 2018, for employers with five or more employees and Oct. 1, 2020, for smaller employers, provides that employees … Continue Reading

New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act Imposes Requirements That Must Be Implemented by June 4

By Saima Sheikh on May 24, 2018 Posted in Leave of Absence, New York

As we previously discussed in our earlier blog post, an amendment to the New York City Earned Sick Time Act went into effect on May 5. That amended act, renamed the New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act, implements two major changes. First, the act expands the types of circumstances for which employers … Continue Reading

New Jersey Government Approves Two New Laws Affecting Employers

By Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo on May 1, 2018 Posted in Leave of Absence, New Jersey

New Jersey, presumably fueled by promises from the new governor, passed two bills affecting employers in the past two weeks. New Jersey now has a Paid Sick Leave Bill, which is headed to the governor for his signature, and an Equal Pay Act, which is now law, and which carries some of the most employee-friendly … Continue Reading

New York City Expands Paid Sick Leave Law With Creation Of ‘Safe Time’

By Shawn Butte on November 13, 2017 Posted in Leave of Absence, New York

On Monday, Nov. 6, newly re-elected Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law “Intro. 1313-A,” a bill that amends and expands the coverage of New York City’s paid sick leave law. The bill renames the sick leave law as the “Earned Safe and Sick Time Act” (ESTA) and increases the reasons for which an employee … Continue Reading

Update Regarding New York’s Paid Family Leave Law (Effective Jan. 1, 2018)

By Amy J. Traub and Saima Sheikh on July 10, 2017 Posted in Leave of Absence, New York

As we reported previously New York recently joined several other states that offer paid family leave benefits for employees. Effective Jan. 1, 2018, the New York Paid Family Leave Law (PFLL) will provide eligible employees with eight full weeks of paid family leave, funded exclusively through employee payroll deductions. The benefit amount and length of the … Continue Reading

Updates to California’s Paid Sick Leave Law

By Jeffrey Bils on July 15, 2015 Posted in California, Leave of Absence

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill intended to cure some of the ambiguities in the state’s new paid sick leave law that have been a headache for employers. The Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (AB 1522) took full effect on July 1, 2015 and requires employers of any size to provide … Continue Reading

No Return Date, No Problem: Seventh Circuit Reverses FMLA Summary Judgment for Employer

By Pat Muldowney on July 7, 2014 Posted in DOL, FMLA, Leave of Absence

On June 24, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that an employee did not forfeit her right to leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) to care for her seriously ill adult daughter by failing to provide her employer with an anticipated date of return. Gienapp v. Harbor … Continue Reading

New York City Earned Sick Time Act Notice of Employee Rights Has Finally Been Published

By Fanny Ferdman and Laura Scully on March 30, 2014 Posted in ESTA, Leave of Absence, New York

As most New York City employers know by now, the New York City Earned Sick Time Act (“Act”) is scheduled to go into effect on April 1, 2014. While the Act was adopted in the summer of 2013, it was subsequently amended after Mayor Bill DeBlasio entered office in 2014. Employers should accordingly ensure that … Continue Reading

Are You Riding the Wave? Cities and States Pass New Paid Leave Statutes

By Anat Maytal on March 7, 2014 Posted in ESTA, Leave of Absence, New Jersey, New York

With this new year comes new resolutions and the implementation of new bills involving leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act and similar state laws give covered employees the right to take leave for addressing certain health conditions, caretaking, or parenting, but that leave is unpaid. Various states and cities have taken the initiative to … Continue Reading

Thou Shall Accommodate: Funeral Leave as a Religious Accommodation Under Title VII

By BakerHostetler on August 14, 2013 Posted in Leave of Absence, Reasonable Accommodation

Requests for reasonable accommodations are commonplace for employers of qualified individuals with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act. But a recent case reminds employers that reasonable accommodation of an employee’s religious beliefs and practices is also required, under Title VII. The case also serves as a reminder to carefully consider the circumstances of any … Continue Reading

Legal Protections for Victims of Domestic Violence on the Rise

By Ana Salper on August 12, 2013 Posted in Leave of Absence, New Jersey, New York

New Jersey and New York have joined a growing trend of states that have recently passed or are seeking to pass laws affording greater protections for victims of domestic violence. As the national movement focused on strengthening protections for victims of domestic or dating violence grows, so too do employer obligations to provide time off … Continue Reading