A special issue of HR Hero Line, a free weekly e-zine from HR Hero and employment law attorneys who are part of the Employers Counsel Network, took an in-depth look at the new FMLA regulations that go into effect January 16 and what they mean to employers.

“10 key changes in new FMLA regulations” by Susan M. Webman details 10 issues that the new Famuily and Medical Leave Act rules address, including substituting time off, employees’ waiver of FMLA rights, light duty work, and employee and employer notification requirements. Webman and her colleague David Fortney at the law firm of Fortney & Scott, LLC, and Rodney Satterwhite of the law firm McGuireWoods LLP will present a 90 minute audio conference on the new FMLA regulations and another audio conference on changes the new FMLA regs have made to intermittent leave.

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At Thanksgiving time, we thought it would be good to take a look at some of the issues employers face during the holidays — drops in productivity, employees shopping online when they should be working, training seasonal workers, refereeing disagreements about holiday decorations, and, of course, navigating the office party. Lawsuits never take a holiday. Here’s an early gift for all you HR and business pros from HR Hero Line and some of the employment law attorneys in the Employers Counsel Network to keep the holiday at work merry.

Productivity got run over by a reindeer

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Despite the passage of Proposition 8 earlier this month, the issue of same-sex marriage is still very much alive in California. The California Supreme Court announced yesterday that it will address the issues raised by the initiative at the request of advocates on both sides:

(1) Was Proposition 8 legally valid, or must it be stricken? The court agreed November 19 to review whether the measure illegally allows a majority to restrict a minority group’s rights and whether it unconstitutionally limits judicial authority.

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Final regulations under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), were issued Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The new regulations allow employers more control over when employees can take leave. As expected, the new regulations cover the recently enacted leave benefits for family members of both seriously injured or ill service members and National Guard and Reserve members who have been called to service. These are the first significant revisions to the FMLA regulations since the law was enacted 15 years ago and will affect all employers subject to the FMLA.

Read the entire FMLA regs from the DOL

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While much of the focus on the recent election has been on the results of the presidential and federal and state legislative races, in Wisconsin, city of Milwaukee voters also passed a binding referendum creating an ordinance providing sick leave benefits for all employees working within the city. Effective immediately, the ordinance is being enforced by the city’s Equal Opportunity Commission.

The ordinance applies to all employers located within the geographic boundaries of the city of Milwaukee, except for the federal government and the “state of Wisconsin, including any office, department, agency, authority, institution, association, society or other body of the state, including the legislative and judiciary, or county or local government.”

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The results from this year’s HR Hero annual holidays survey are very similar to years past and it doesn’t appear that the number of holidays granted in 2009 will be different than in 2008 or previous years. The one difference is that July 4, 2009 will be on a Saturday. Because of that, many of respondents reported that your workplace will observe July 3 as a paid holiday.

You might be particularly interested in the answers to the last question in the survey — an open-ended question about how the economy might affect office holiday celebrations and annual bonuses. Some said that there would be no change. Some said that holiday parties would be scaled back or cancelled because of budget crunches. It appears that pot luck lunches at the office are going to be back in vogue. Several people also explained some creative ways that their organizations are cutting back while trying to do something for employees – such as giving the day after Christmas as a paid holiday in lieu of having an office party and gifts.

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Update: E-verify deadline moved to September 2009

Starting January 15, 2009, federal contractors and subcontractors will be required to begin using the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) E-Verify system to ensure their employees are eligible to work in the United States.

New E-Verify regulations (PDF)

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Update: New FMLA regulations issued by DOL on November 14, 2008

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) its final draft of revised Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) regulations, which could be published in the Federal Register this month. These would be the first new FMLA regulations since 1995, when the current regulations were issued. The FMLA itself was enacted in 1993.

In developing the draft final regs, the DOL reviewed several thousand comments on the proposed FMLA regulations it published back in February of this year. The contents of the final draft aren’t yet known, of course, but the final rules may retain some of the following proposed regulations.

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Of course you want to show your appreciation when employees out-perform expectations. A cash bonus? 401K profit sharing matches? Not in the budget this year. Learn inexpensive ways to thank your employees for their hard work and dedication with the free White Paper from HR Hero, Giving Thanks: How to Show Employees They’re #1 Without Breaking the Bank.

It’s time for HRHero’s annual holiday survey to see how many holidays companies are offering during the next 12 months and how the economy will affect their holiday celebrations and bonuses. This year’s survey starts with the Thanksgiving holiday this month and goes through October 2009.

And speaking of holidays, HR Hero Line will take the day off on the day after Thanksgiving (Nov. 28) but will resume on Dec. 5.

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