Employment Law

Recertification of Intermittent Leave Violates FMLA, New Jersey Appellate Division Holds

February 1, 2013

Burlington County jail employees reasonably suspected of abusing sick leave were required, pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement, to submit doctors’ notes regarding each exercise of intermittent family leave within seven days. Police Benevolent Assoc. Local No. 249 v. County of Burlington, 2013 WL 173793 (App. Div., Jan. 17, 2013). One employee on the “sick leave abuse list” took intermittent leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to care for his son, and was disciplined after he failed to provide a doctor’s note. According to the Appellate Division, requiring recertification by a doctor for each exercise of intermittent leave interferes with the exercise of FMLA rights, particularly absent prior abuse of intermittent leave for the condition at issue (son-related). The Appellate Division differentiated the doctor’s note requirement in this matter from a lawful “call-in” requirement, indicating that “such a requirement is patently less onerous than requiring a doctor’s recertification for each use of [intermittent leave] that has already been approved on the basis of a doctor’s certification.”

Supreme Court Rules 14-Day Time Limit to Appeal Class Decertification Is “Purposefully Unforgiving”

On February 26, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that under Rule 23(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP), a petition for permission to appeal an order decertifying a class must be filed within 14 days from the date the district court issued its order.

Finger pressing digital rendition of security lock.

COVID-19 Consumer Data Protection Act Announced by Republican Senators

Over the years, Congress has put forth various legislative proposals regarding data privacy. None of the past legislation received the support necessary to enable passage of a comprehensive national data privacy law. In the face of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, however, promising new privacy legislation has been introduced by Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS), chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Senator John Thune (R-SD), chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet; Senator Jerry Moran (R-KN), chairman of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance and Data Security; and Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).

Prop 206 Remains Unsettled: Constitutional Challenge and Interim FAQs Keep Us Guessing

Proposition 206, the minimum wage and paid sick time referendum that decisively passed in last month’s election with over 58 percent of votes cast, may never become effective if a newly filed lawsuit proves successful. In the meantime, the Industrial Commission of Arizona (ICA) issued their initial FAQs in a newly-released document, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Minimum Wage and Earned Paid Sick Time designed to provide guidance for employers and employees on both the new minimum wage and the paid sick time (PST) provisions. While helpful in summarizing and organizing the law’s multiple components, the FAQs break no new ground.

Recommended Reading

Supreme Court Rules 14-Day Time Limit to Appeal Class Decertification Is “Purposefully Unforgiving”

COVID-19 Consumer Data Protection Act Announced by Republican Senators

Prop 206 Remains Unsettled: Constitutional Challenge and Interim FAQs Keep Us Guessing