When addressing any major ailment, maintaining one\'s employment is really tough. It\'s also usually critical. This program, presented at the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition\'s annual conference, explains and offers a host of best practices in making it through the process of illness as well as treatment and leave from the workplace.
1. (c) 2012 Deirdre Kamber Todd
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BUSINESS LAW EMPLOYMENT LAW SOCIAL MEDIA LAW HIPAA
INTERNET LAW DISCRIMINATION UNEMPLOYMEN T
COMPENSATION
CONTRACTS HOME HEALTHCARE ADVANCED DIRECTIVES CEMETERY
LAW
THE KAMBER LAW GROUP
A Professional
Corporation
The Law At Work.
1275 GLENLIVET DRIVE , SUITE 100
ALLENTOWN , PENNSYLVANIA 18106
TEL: 484.224.3059 | FAX: 484.224.2999
INFO@KAMBERLAWGROUP.COM
www.KamberLawGroup.com
Find Us on 1
2. Surviving Breast Cancer in the
Workplace:
Protecting Your Job While Maintaining
Workplace Relations During Treatment
Deirdre Kamber Todd, Esq.
DKamberTodd@KamberLawGroup.com
(c) 2012 Deirdre Kamber Todd 2
3. Deirdre Kamber Todd, Esq.
Areas of Practice:
• Employment and Business Law
• Social Media/Internet
• HIPAA
• Contracts
• Unemployment Compensation
Admitted: Pennsylvania, New York and U.S. Supreme Court
Expert Witness: Social Media, Lehigh County Court
Deirdre Kamber DeirdreJKamber
Kamber Law Group P.C. @DKamberTodd
(c) 2012 Deirdre Kamber Todd 3
10. FMLA
• What is the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)?
– A federal law that entitles eligible employees to
take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave
within a 12-month period for specified family and
medical reasons.
– NDAA amended FMLA to grant 26 weeks to
military service members under certain
circumstances
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11. FMLA
• Employers must grant up to 12 workweeks of
unpaid leave during any 12-month period for one
or more of the following reasons:
– The birth and care of the newborn child of the
employee
– Placement with the employee of a son or daughter
for adoption or foster care
– To care for an immediate family member
(spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health
condition, or
– To take medical leave when the employee is
unable to work because of a serious health
condition
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12. FMLA
• Upon return from FMLA leave, an employee must be
restored to the his or her original job, or to an
equivalent job with equivalent pay, benefits, and other
terms and conditions of employment.
– Key Employee Exception
– Temporary Employee Exception
– Doesn’t fit the definition of one year, 1,250
hours, etc….
• What about retaliation?
• How does FMLA interact with ADA?
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14. ADA and ADAAA
• The ADA prohibits discrimination based on a
disability which impacts on a major life function.
• The ADAAA, passed in 2009, seriously changed
the face of the ADA.
• Law requires covered employers to provide
“reasonable accommodations” to the known
disabilities of qualified individuals to remove
workplace barriers.
• LEAVE AS A “REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION”?
– And, if yes, how long? Wasn’t the point to
keep people at work?
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15. ADA and ADAAA: Reasonable
Accommodation
• Because these are part of the list of what may
constitute a “reasonable accommodation,”
• YES, VIRGINIA, being OUT ON LEAVE is an
accommodation…
– Job restructuring
– Modifying work schedules
– EEOC Guidelines on ADA
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16. ADA and ADAAA: Reasonable
Accommodation
• Leave is considered a reasonable accommodation.
• Must engage in the interactive process.
• Must be for a reasonable period of time.
• Must be for a reasonable ascertainable period of time
(how long is the person going to be out?)
• So, if you accommodate someone by having them out of
work, what is a reasonable time frame?
• What happens with FMLA? Do you tack it on? Does it mix
in the middle? What about sick leave?
• Do you have to keep them employed?
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17. Funky Specifics
• ADA leave + FMLA leave =
– Are the leaves tacked/added together for the same
condition?
– No.
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18. Funky Specifics
• FMLA + HIPAA =
– FMLA leave and HIPAA privacy:
• If an employee is unable or unwilling to return
the completed FMLA certification, HIPAA
prohibits a healthcare provider from sending
the completed FMLA certification directly to the
employer if the certification contains patient
PHI.
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20. Best Practices
• Try to work with your employer
• Abide by all reporting requirements unless illegal
• You may not know everything going on either
• Don’t be harassed
• Try to get to healthcare practitioners regularly
• HIPAA authorizations
• Be honest, to a point
• No MD notes “she can’t come to work because she’s
sick”…..
• You need a definitive return to work date
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21. Best Practices
• If you are harassed or retaliated, call a lawyer
immediately – don’t go through it alone
• Be aware of statute of limitations
• Know your policies and follow them
• Wear the white hat
• Keep a diary
• Tell others
• Don’t abuse your workplace or time off
• Keep all documents, including social
media/texts/emails/FB, etc.
• Know that 12 weeks means 12 weeks
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22. Questions?
Comments?
The Kamber Law Group, P.C.
Deirdre Kamber Todd, Esq.
DKamberTodd@KamberLawGroup.com
1275 Glenlivet Drive, Suite 100
Allentown, PA 18106
Tel: 484.224.3059 Fax: 484.224.2999
(c) 2012 Deirdre Kamber Todd 22
