Habitually Absent, Tardy, and Sick Employees in California Workplace
In California, there are always cases of employees who are always absent from the workplace for no apparent reason. Even when they receive warning letters from their employers, these employees hardly rectify their behavior.
Even worse, some of these employees hardly report to work on time on the few occasions they avail themselves. In some cases, some employees miss work due to genuine reasons such as sickness arising from serious medical conditions-mental illness, cancer and diabetes.
In most instances, employers in California are usually at loss with respect to how to hand medical leave or termination of employees for missing work. To respond accordingly to these issues, let us look at some common questions mostly asked by employers.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
- Is it mandatory to provide paid sick leave to my employees?
Paid sick leave largely depends on the location. There are places in which employers are supposed to offer their employees paid sick leave while in other places it is not a mandatory.
- Are my employees entitled to medical leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) if my organization has less than 50 employees?
No. The Family and Medical Leave Act is only applicable to a business that has 50 or more regular employees. Further, the medical leave is applicable if the employees work within 75 miles of each other.
- What should I expect as an employer from an employee request for FMLA leave?
According to the FMLA, if possible, an employee ought to furnish an employer with a 30 days’ notice prior to taking the leave.
- As an employer can I terminate an employee on FMLA leave without the risk of legal consequences?
Yes, as an employer you can terminate an employee on FMLA leave without the risking any legal consequences. However, the termination ought to be non-discriminatory in nature. Further, an employer cannot terminate an employee as retaliation for taking FMLA leave. The following are circumstances under which an employer can terminate an employee while on FMLA leave
- Termination due to low-quality performance
- Termination due to decreased workload
- Termination due to gross misconduct, or criminal and fraud-related activities while on leave
- When does the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) apply to a business?
This law is applicable to businesses that have 15 or more employees. The act requires employers to refrain from discriminatory behavior that intimidates employees with disability.
In conclusion, there are so many disputes that can arise between employers and employees. This is due to issues to do with habitually absent employees, medical leave, and termination. To competently handle these issues, employers should formulate precise guidelines that govern the process to be followed by employees when taking medical leave.
On matters termination, employers should involve qualified lawyers to ensure they do not break any law. As for employees, they should seek legal counsel as well in the event that the termination while on medical leave is deemed unfair or a retaliatory measure by the employee.
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