The 5 most influential FMLA rulings in recent memory

By Jared Bilski

Court interpretations of the FMLA will ultimately dictate how employers are supposed to handle their administration of the law. To that end, here are the most influential FMLA rulings in recent memory.

1. Employees can choose when not to use FMLA

Escriba v. Poultry Farms. In this case, an employee with a longstanding history of FMLA usage specifically told her direct supervisor that she didn’t want upcoming absences to care for her father to be counted as FMLA leave. Instead she wanted them to count as vacation time. So she went on vacation and didn’t return until well after her scheduled return date. She was fired as a result. The employee then filed an FMLA retaliation claim. She said her leave clearly triggered FMLA protections.
What the court ruled:

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Stress solutions: 3 paths to a happier heart

By Michael W. Rosen, M.D., and Arleen Fitzgerald, L.I.C.W.

Do you often wish you felt calmer and less frazzled? If so, that's probably your heart's desire, too.

When stress goes unchecked, it can take a toll on your heart health. That may include raising your risk of high blood pressure, a heart attack or other problems.

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Tip Tuesday! How to calculate employer health care responsibilities

By Ken Tysiac

In compliance with new health care employer responsibility regulations, two halves indeed equal a whole for employers when they determine their number of full-time employees.

To determine whether a business is subject to the employer mandate penalty under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), P.L. 111-148, the business must determine the number of its full-time employees, which includes its full-time equivalent employees (FTEs). An employer’s FTEs are based on the hours worked by its part-time workers. The number of an employer’s FTEs for a month is the total part-time employee hours for the month divided by 120.


In 2015, to avoid paying the employer mandate penalty, employers with 100 or more full-time employees are required to offer health care coverage to employees that provides minimum value and is affordable. Employers with 50 to 99 full-time employees can certify to the IRS their employer size and certain other items to delay application of the rule until 2016.

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5 onboarding tactics that get long-term results

By Robert Cordray

According to recent statistics furnished by Monster.com, 30% of external new hires turn over within the first two years of employment. Other organizations, such as the Society for Human Resources Management, report that turnover during the first 18 months of employment can be as much as 50%. As more and more Millennials, who are known to change jobs frequently, enter the workforce, the trend toward shorter employee retention is likely to continue — making the onboarding process more critical than ever.

For those organizations looking to boost employee retention through more effective onboarding, here’s a look at some successful and innovative tactics that have long-term results.

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Exercise? Who, me? 8 strategies for making the leap

By Karis Day

You might not think of yourself as an athlete. But, given the chance, your body may be able to do things you never dreamed of.

And, you don't have to be sporty or skilled to reap the impressive benefits of regular exercise. They're right there for the taking — including more energy, better health and help managing stress.

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Honey and Cinnamon Benefits and Natural Cures

By Josh Axe and Eric Zielinski

Could the honey and cinnamon cure work for you? Cinnamon has been used by Chinese and Ayurvedic folk medicine for over 2,000 years and honey also has a rich history dating back to ancient Greek, Roman, Vedic, and Egyptian texts.

The healing properties of honey were even referenced by Aristotle (384 – 322 BC) and Aristoxenus (320 BC). Countless stories from people being cured from everything from diabetes (type 2) to acne have filled the natural health testimonials since honey and cinnamon were first discovered.

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Tip Tuesday! The pros and cons of refusing to hire smokers

By Tim Gould

Now that Obamacare has kicked in, more and more companies are refusing to hire people who smoke. But some legal dangers do remain.  

As we pointed out in a post in February 2013, there’s no federal law that protects smokers or entitles them to equal protections when it comes to hiring, promotions, etc. That’s because the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission doesn’t recognize smokers as a protected class.

And Fisher & Phillips attorney Kytle Frye, writing on the Becker’s Hospital Review website, points out that the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act actually recognizes the increased healthcare costs associated with smoking employees by allowing insurers to raise smokers’ insurance premiums up to 50 percent over those paid by non-smokers.

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