The Evolution of FMLA: What Supervisors and HR Pros Must Know Today

WHY ATTEND

Unfortunately, the creativity of FMLA abusers has grown as fast as the law has evolved. That creates two distinct challenges for HR pros. Managing FMLA requires that you:

1. Carefully follow the many scattered DOL regulations, interpretations and case law and 
2. Aggressively, but legally, crack down on employees who abuse the FMLA

It’s not enough to make sure HR has their FMLA act together. Your first line of defense — the managers and supervisors at your organization — must be intimately aware of FMLA provisions as well.

Courts have come down hard on supervisors who mismanage or fail to recognize FMLA-eligible situations. It’s a scary thought: Even the smartest, most proficient HR department can be rendered useless if managers and supervisors say or do the wrong things.

This program is a 90 minute FMLA boot camp webinar. It will cover the basics of FMLA in modern-day terms, tricky situations like return-to-work and intermittent leave, and best practices for meeting your legal obligations without being taken advantage of.

This webinar will get any HR professional or manager up to speed on what FMLA means today-- newbies who need A to Z training and seasoned professionals who need to update their FMLA competency alike.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Participants will learn about:

• Exactly who is entitled to FMLA leave and for what reasons. 
• How to manage intermittent leave so that it is less disruptive and less subject to “long weekend” abuse.
• Qualification guidelines: who is a child, spouse or parent under the FMLA and when you can and cannot ask for proof
• Your obligations under the FMLA and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) for military personnel and their families. 
• Investigating and fighting suspected abuse without interfering with the employee’s rights.
• Anticipated changes ahead at the federal level that will result in more, longer FMLA leaves
• What to do when an employee can’t return to work and wants more unpaid leave.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Anniken Davenport has taught business law and HR management at Penn State University and directed the Legal Studies Program at Wilson College. She has represented the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in discrimination and employment law cases and school districts in labor negotiations. Anniken holds an MA in writing from Johns Hopkins and a JD from Penn State.

CERTIFICATION

This program has been approved for 1.5 recertification credit hour(s) through the HR Certification Institute (HRCI) & Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).