June 26, 2020

The Week in FFCRA Complaints

This is the second installment in our roundup of FFCRA complaints. As we noted in the first post, we will be keeping you up to date with all the cases and highlighting the ones that we think have special bearing on our practice, employment law in New York State, or are just particularly noteworthy. 

  • Wells v. Haynes Ambulance of Alabama, Inc. (M.D.A.L.) 6/15/20
  • Plaintiff, a flight paramedic with two minor children, sued his employer, an ambulance company, under FFCRA/EFMLEA (expanded FMLA) for not notifying him of his rights under the EFMLEA, failing to tell him that his EFMLEA request was denied and why, and retaliating against him by terminating him. The Plaintiff inquired about taking leave when Alabama announced school closures due to Covid-19 because he had no other childcare options for his two minor children. The complaint alleges that the Plaintiff was told he was terminated because of his inquiry about the mere possibility of taking leave “ruffled feathers at the top” of the company.
  • Brown v. Irvington Township (U.S. District Court of N.J.) 6/19/20
  • Plaintiff, a clerk-typist in the Tax Department, sued his employer, Irvington Township, under FFCRA and EPSLA for denying his request to take paid leave under EPSLA after he received a note from his doctor certifying that he was being treated for Covid-19 and should be excused from work. Irvington Township informed Brown that he was not eligible because the township has over 500 employees; however, FFCRA applies to public employers regardless of number of employees. Instead of approving his leave, the township began making unexplained and improper deductions from his pay.
  • Donohew v. America’s Insurance Associations, Inc. (M.D.F.L.) 6/23/20
  • Plaintiff sued her employer under FFCRA and EPSLA for denying her the paid leave created by these laws, and instead putting her on unpaid leave and suspending her when Plaintiff’s daughter’s school closed due to Covid-19. The company went so far as to suggest that Donohew drop her daughter off at the local YMCA for $95 per week, all while allowing other employees to work from home.

The other two cases this week were Bowden v. Brinly-Hardy Company, Inc. (W.D.K.Y.) 6/18/20 Lewis v. Discount Parking Fll, LLC (S.D.F.L.) 6/12/20. We have several additional cases on our radar and will provide updated information about them next week.

Another Tough School Year on the Horizon

August 23, 2021
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The Delta variant impact has been felt, including by parents who were relying on schools being open for in-person sessions this fall. After a year and a half of stop-start at schools, the fall semester is already being hampered with many schools having to close or quarantine significant portions of their population. This is especially bad news as there has been little headway made by legislators or the private sector in finding ways to provide parents with paid leave to deal with care-related emergencies, most notably by the sudden closure of schools.

Is US Lack of Childcare a Threat to National Security?

August 23, 2021
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In a recent op-ed in The Hill, several retired US generals make the novel argument that the nation’s lack of strong, universal childcare is not only a persistent problem for working parents, but represents a national security threat and that lawmakers must continue to address this as part of the legislative wrangling set to go into overdrive as Congress returns from summer vacation

Remote Work May Impact Career Advancement

August 18, 2021
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There are few silver linings to be found in the last 20 months. But one bright spot has been the expansion of remote work as an option. The flexibility remote work offers is also a boon to companies competing for workers. However, as companies expand their work-from-home policies, they need to be mindful of how it can affect office culture and promotions.

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