FMLA Updates 2025: Stay with Compliance and Avoiding Costly Mistakes
EVENT DATE:
PRESENTER(s): Jacquiline M. Wagner
On January 14, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor issued an Opinion Letter regarding the applicability of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) substitution rule when an employee on FMLA leave is receiving state or local paid family and medical leave benefits. FMLA disputes are consistently among the top five issues that land companies in the courtroom. Over the past decade, managing FMLA has become a critical part of HR responsibilities, with its importance only increasing. But is your company truly prepared?
An increasing number of state governments have passed legislation that provides paid family and medical leave for reasons such as personal medical, family care and parental leave. Some local governments have also adopted paid sick and/or family leave programs for their municipal government employees. These plans generally provide paid leave programs for specified family and medical reasons and vary widely in their structure (including whether they are mandatory or voluntary), the scope and duration of benefits provided, and their similarity to the leave reasons covered by the FMLA. For example, many of the leave programs permit leave for circumstances which may be qualifying FMLA leave reasons as well, while some define qualifying family members more broadly than the FMLA (e.g., including grandparents or parents-in-law), some provide leave for a different set of health conditions, and some provide a leave period longer or shorter than that provided by the FMLA.
The FMLA substitution rule allows employees or employers to substitute accrued employer-provided paid leave (such as vacation, sick leave, or personal time off) for any part of the unpaid FMLA entitlement period.
- Understanding the FMLA Substitution Rule
- Interaction Between FMLA and PFML Benefits
- Employer and Employee Rights and Responsibilities
- Clarification on PFML Benefits Interaction
- Supplementing PFML Benefits
- Compliance Best Practices
- Impact on Leave Administration
What You’ll Learn:
- Understanding the New Updates: Discover the surprising changes for 2025 and how they impact your FMLA policies.
- Avoiding Common Pitfalls: Learn how to identify and prevent common FMLA mistakes that could cost your company big.
- Intermittent FMLA Management: Gain clarity on setting boundaries while ensuring compliance with intermittent leave requests.
Join this course to understand the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) recent Opinion Letter on the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) substitution rule, particularly concerning employees receiving state or local paid family and medical leave (PFML) benefits
- Session Duration: 60 Minutes
- Case Studies and Live Q&A session with speaker
- PowerPoint presentation for reference
- Session learning level: Introductory
- Delivery method: Group Internet Based
- HRCI Credits: 1.0
- SHRM Credits: 1.0
Who Will Benefit:
- Payroll Executives/Managers/Administrators/Professionals/Practitioners/Entry Level Personnel
- HR Professionals
- HR Directors
- Managers
- In-House Counsel
- Attorneys
- Business Owners/Executive Officers/Operations and Departmental Managers
- Accountant/Accounting Professionals
