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In Ragsdale v. Wolverine, decided on March 19, 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court found that the penalty imposed on an employer by the Department of Labor (DOL) for failure to notify an eligible employee of FMLA leave entitlement was too harsh. The DOL regulation in question states, "In all circumstances, it is the employer's responsibility to designate leave, paid or unpaid, as FMLA-qualifying, and to give notice of the designation to the employee." The regulation further provides that "if an employee takes paid or unpaid leave and the employer does not designate the leave as FMLA leave, the leave taken does not count against an employee's FMLA entitlement."
By forcing employers to provide additional leave on top of what the employee has already taken, the Court determined the regulation "creates rights which the statute clearly does not confer" and has the effect of forcing an employer to provide much more than the twelve weeks of unpaid leave required by the FMLA. Because the effect of this regulation is to, in essence, punish employers who provide more generous leave policies than required by federal law, the Court found the regulation invalid. Whether an employer remains obligated to give notice to its employees of FMLA eligiblity and the accompanying penalty for failure to do so were issues the Court refused to address.
For more discussion of the impact of this case on employers and an analysis of the dissenting opinion in Ragsdale v. Wolverine, see the Issue of the Month posted under "Legal News" on the Krukowski & Costello website.
For more information about FMLA, other employment law issues and in-house supervisor training, call Krukowski & Costello, S.C. at (414) 423-1330 or e-mail educational services.
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