HR Issues Update - January 26, 2007 

 

SHRM Members Offer Advice on FMLA

If you’ve ever struggled with questions over how the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is implemented, now is your chance to speak out to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). In response to DOL’s Request for Information about challenges employers have encountered in administering parts of the FMLA, SHRM has launched a major member advocacy effort to encourage members to submit their comments to the DOL. Deadline for comments has been extended to Friday, February 16, 2007. 

On January 10, Washington State Legislative Director Jenifer Lambert opened the first of three sessions co-sponsored by SHRM to discuss issues around FMLA rules. The meetings, attended by nearly 250 SHRM members and other HR professionals, were held in Seattle, Chicago and Groton, CT. The National Coalition to Protect Family Leave, which SHRM chairs, also participated.

Already nearly 2,000 comments have been sent to the DOL by SHRM members, highlighting such issues as the definition of “serious medical condition” and intermittent leave. SHRM, through the HRVoice letter-writing program, is offering members a variety of comments to choose and submit, including the opportunity to share examples of how the current FMLA regulations have affected the workplace.

For more information on the discussion sessions or submitting comments to the DOL, please contact Kenya Wileyor Bernard Coleman  in SHRM’s Governmental Affairs department.