Employment Law Chronicle for Virginia & the District of Columbia

More than a year after the D.C. Council passed a paid sick leave law for employees in the District of Columbia, the Mayor's office is expected to issue regulations soon. Regulations are needed to clarify ambiguities so that employees know their rights and employers know their obligations, which exist already. A recent Washington Post article illustrates the need for regulations concerning D.C.'s sick leave law, now. Yesterday, in a Letter to the Editor, a writer highlighted the urgent need for regulations. I concur.

For more information about the District of Columbia's paid sick leave law, see my prior posts here and here.

In November 2008, I summarized ASSLA, which is the District of Columbia’s new paid sick leave law. Since then, I have received several inquiries about workplace posting requirements. For the revised employer poster, please see the District of Columbia’s Minimum Wage Poster, which has been modified to include the ASSLA. The full text of the ASSLA is in Title 32 (Labor) of the D.C. Code.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit's recent decision in Dotson v. Pfizer explains that Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") rights are triggered by an employee's request for leave covered by the FMLA, without regard to whether the employee mentions "FMLA" or uses any other term of art in the statute. Since the Fourth Circuit decides appeals from Virginia federal courts, the decision is particularly important for Virginia employers.

In this case, employee James Dotson (Dotson) was awarded more than $722,000 on his FMLA interference and retaliation claims, including $333,305 in statutory liquidated damages, $375,000 in attorneys' fees, and $14,265 in costs. Each party appealed different rulings of the trial court. On appeal, the Fourth Circuit affirmed the judgment, except as to the trial court's denial of pre-judgment interest. Holding that pre-judgment interest on FMLA damage awards is mandatory, the Fourth Circuit remanded the case, directing the trial court to recalculate Dotson's damage and fee awards to include pre-judgment interest.

The following arguments made by Pfizer and rejected by the Fourth Circuit provide clear guidance to employers that the burden is on employers -- not employees -- to understand and properly apply the FMLA:

Continue reading "Family and Medical Leave Act: "Magic Words" Not Required to Invoke FMLA Rights (Dotson v. Pfizer, March 4, 2009, 4th Circuit)" »

DOL has published its Final Rule implementing the January 2008 amendments to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). In addition to modifying existing FMLA regulations to add military family leave entitlements enacted in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008 (NDAA), the final FMLA Regulations provide needed clarification about employer and employee rights and responsibilities under the FMLA.

The revised FMLA Regulations take effect on January 16, 2009. You can visit DOL's final rule website for the Final Regulations and a useful Fact Sheet highlighting key changes to the FMLA Regulations.

Contact Lori Searcy at 703-644-4122, for questions on the FMLA or other business and employment laws.

Effective November 13, 2008, the District of Columbia's new sick leave law requires employers to provide employees with up to seven days (varies based on employer size) of paid sick leave for absences due to the employee or family member's medical condition, domestic violence or sexual abuse. While the Federal Government has paid sick-leave policies for federal employees, for now, no other jurisdiction in the Washington Metro area (Maryland or Virginia) requires employers to provide paid sick leave.

The Mayor is expected to issue rules implementing the new sick leave law within 60 days of the effective date. It is my hope that the regulations will clarify the following two issues that are, at best, ambiguous in the law: (a) whether the ASSLA applies only to employees who satisfy the DCFMLA's time and hour restrictions; and (b) the employer's control over an employee's use of carryover sick leave.

Please see the following Questions & Answers for highlights of the new law:

Continue reading "D.C. Employment Law: District of Columbia Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act ("ASSLA") Takes Effect Providing Employees With Paid Sick Leave" »

As a courtesy to employers and employment lawyers, The Employment Law Chronicle provides links to the text of key Federal, Virginia, and District of Columbia labor and employment laws published on government sites.

The FMLA permits eligible employees of covered employers to take up to 12 weeks of job-protected, unpaid leave during any 12-month period. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2008 amends the FMLA to provide for additional categories of job-protected leave relating to members of the military.

Continue reading "Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA): 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601 et. seq. " »