IMPOSING EXTRA REQUIREMENTS TO APPROVE FMLA LEAVE LIKELY ILLEGAL

A federal judge just shined a spotlight on a problem employees can encounter when they ask for FMLA leave as opposed to other kinds of leave.  The judge said the agency was wrong to add extra notice or similar requirements for a FMLA request that do not apply to a request for annual or sick leave. The decision is not binding on federal agencies, but it should cause unions to question if their members’ agencies require onerous extra notices to get FMLA approved. Check out this law firm’s post about the case.