As an experienced Orange County Employment Lawyer, we often hear from employers about whether they have to hold a position for an employee who has been out sick for over 12 weeks. Under the Family Medical Leave Act, certain employers are covered by this provision of law and it can enable an employee to take up to 12 weeks of leave. There are of course provisions that sometimes require to exhaust any accrued time upfront say if its vacation time or sick time that they have available to be used during that period of absence. The employer often times is faced with a difficult position of filling the employees position while they are absent. If we don’t want this employee to come back, can we eliminate this position? Let’s say the employee was out for two weeks and you realized that you can actually do this job with the existing staff. Therefore, we are saving money by not having them re-enter the workforce for us. These are all difficult questions that involve not only the Family Medical Leave Act, but also questions about the Disability Laws and whether they will be protected under those laws
Sometimes you may have employees who are filing applications for short term or long term disability at the same time, and you definitely need to consult with an experienced Orange County Employment Lawyer who is familiar with these areas of law in order to navigate through them. In these difficult decisions, you certainly want to seek advice upfront before you take any action and then avoid and certainly distinguish any kind of claim being brought against you down the road.
Do you know how long a job position can be held for a sick employee? Contact our Orange County Employment Lawyer for advice.
This informational blog post was provided by Kim Berg, an experienced Orange County Employment Lawyer.
