FMLA Intermittent Leave: Preventing Abuse While Mitigating Interference or Retaliation Claims

Establishing Effective Leave and Transfer Policies, Challenging Medical Certification, and Leveraging Defense Theories

Recording of a 90-minute CLE webinar with Q&A

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Conducted on Thursday, June 8, 2017

Recorded event now available

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Course Materials

This CLE course will provide employment counsel with the tools necessary to prevent employee abuse of intermittent leave while maintaining FMLA compliance. The panel will review appropriate leave and transfer policies, discuss challenges to medical certification, outline defense theories, and more.

Description

One of the most daunting challenges employers face is preventing abuse of FMLA intermittent leave. Employers must navigate a delicate balance between preventing abuse and avoiding claims of interference or retaliation.

Employers have at their disposal many underutilized approaches to ensure FMLA claims are legitimate. One technique involves the medical certification process, and employment counsel must guide clients on when to require and/or challenge medical certifications.

Counsel should also guide employers in developing an effective leave policy that includes provisions on paid leave and the consequences for fraudulent FMLA claims. An employer’s failure to correctly implement these and other strategies may result in litigation and adverse rulings.

Listen as our distinguished panel reviews techniques to correctly prevent abusive FMLA intermittent leave claims. The panel will provide counsel with best practices to develop and implement strategies, maintain FMLA compliance, and prepare defense theories in interference or retaliation claims.

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Outline

  1. Managing medical certification
    1. FMLA regulations
    2. Certification requirements employers may demand
    3. Recertification
    4. Demand for second and third medical opinions
  2. Effective leave policies
    1. Paid leave
    2. Call-in
    3. Employee location requirements during leave
    4. Misrepresentation and the honest belief defense
  3. Transfer of position
  4. Effective investigation techniques
  5. Defense strategies for litigating FMLA claims

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • What techniques can employers utilize to prevent or effectively discourage FMLA intermittent leave abuse?
  • How can counsel guide employers in balancing abuse prevention strategies with FMLA leave requirements?
  • What are the substantive components of effective leave and medical certification policies?
  • How can counsel or employers conduct legally defensible investigations into doubtful intermittent leave claims?

Faculty

Kopp, Jeffrey
Jeffrey S. Kopp
Partner
Foley & Lardner

Mr. Kopp focuses on labor and employment and commercial litigation, and a variety of emergency and other injunctive...  |  Read More

Pontz, Evan
Evan H. Pontz
Partner
Troutman Sanders

Mr. Pontz specializes in employment and labor law matters, including discrimination litigation, traditional labor law...  |  Read More

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