FMLA headline

nancyp

I just read Sunday's paper (Indianapolis Star) and on the front page was a headline reading Family Leave Act bolsters attendance-based bonuses. It specifically stated "The idea behind the FMLA is to provide workers with unpaid leave-without detriment or loss of benefits." My delimma is - we wrote a new policy about 2 years ago and it states before you go on FMLA you negate your bonus (due to perfect attendance for that quarter) and 2 personal days that the company decided to give to hourly employees as a perk. This story is telling me I can't take away their bonus or personal days. When I was at a seminar last year, I specifically asked the attorney if we could do this and he said their would be no problem. Ok, has their been a change in the FMLA laws I am unaware of or what. Please help!!

Don D

Strange as it may sound, we have employees who get perfect attendance bonuses who have missed upwards of 12 weeks FMLA. It's my understanding that FMLA absence can't be used to remove their ability to gain that bonus.

Hatchetman

Don is right. You may not deny an attendance bonus to an employee, who would be otherwise eligible to it, on the basis that the employee is or was on FMLA leave for the qualifying time period. See 29CFR825.220(c), which can be found at US DOL's website.

Gillian

This is a lesson in accepting legal advice at face value. Sometimes it is good, and sometimes it isn't. Second opinions are good - in health questions, mechanics, attorneys and others as well.

Don D

That's right, Gillian. What is it they say about lawyers?...They're like...no...everybody's got one, no....What was it? This is a good time to sneak in a jab at the lawyers. It's Friday and the ones who aren't on the third tee by now are packing coolers and SUVs. Us poor HR guys are at it till five or later.

nancyp

You guys are great!!!! Thanks again for all your help.

Rockie

You cannot take any FMLA leave into consideration when awarding bonuses, awards, etc. Anyone who has taken this leave must be treated as if they had not been absent.

jmssr

Sorry to disagree but, you can pro-rate the perfect attendance bonus. You actually end up paying them the perfect attendance bonus for actual hours worked. We pay quarterly attendance bonuses. Each quarter we calculate the hours worked during the quarter and then deduct the FMLA hours. The associate that used FMLA is then paid perfect attendance bonus for the actual hours worked.

Jim

Don D

I'll have to kindly disagree with the disagree-er. We need a referee on this one. It's my read that we cannot mess with any benefit that a person would have otherwise received had it not been for the event of FMLA. Including a bonus of any sort.

System

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 06-21-02 AT 01:19PM (CST)[/font][p]Well, I don't profess to be a referee, but just a lowly HR Director who attended a seminar this week on FMLA. Here is what is written in the seminar handout:
"An employee's use of the FMLA qualified leave may not result in the loss of any employee benefit that the employee earned or was entitled to before using FMLA leave, or that s/he would have attained. For example, FMLA leave cannot disqualify an employee from a "perfect attendance" bonus (or similar bonus based on attendance)." When this was presented, the uproar in the room was deafening, but the lawyers stated that this was and is the law. Hope this helps.

hrqueen

We are a union shop and the last time we negotiated our contract, we eliminated the attendance bonus. It doesn't make sense to me to pay people extra to show up for work. That's why they receive a paycheck! Perhaps there is something else you could use as a basis for your bonus plan.

Don D

I think it really has an impact here. The bonus is only $100, but some folks try for it religiously. We also pay a wellness bonus for employees and dependents who do not file a claim during the year. I know, I know, this is encouraging people not to seek medical treatment, but I inherited these things. Neither is contractual and we could eliminate them easily.