Employers: Make Sure You Define 12-Month FMLA Leave Policy
The article advises employers to clearly define their 12-month FMLA leave measurement method—such as calendar year, fixed year, or rolling backward—and highlights tools like WorkforceHub for employee notifications and TimeWorksPlus for accurate leave tracking to ensure consistent application and compliance.
Workers can use up to 12 weeks of FMLA leave in a 12-month period. However, you can measure the leave in several different ways.
FMLA allows the business owner to use any of the following methods to define the 12-month period:
- Calendar year: 12-month period that runs from January 1 through December 31
- Fixed 12 months:
- 1.A fiscal year
- 2.A year starting on an employee’s anniversary date
- 3.A 12-month period required by state law
- 4.A 12-month period measured forward
- 5.A ‘rolling’ 12-month period measured backward from the first date an employee takes FMLA leave
The rolling backward procedure can be confusing. Here is an example of rolling backward measurement:
Kim requests four weeks of FMLA leave to commence on March 31, 2019. The employer looks back 12 months (from March 31, 2019 back to April 1, 2018) to see if Kim has used any FMLA leave. You determine that Kim had not used any FMLA leave during that period, so she is entitled to the four weeks requested and has eight additional weeks available.
When your company’s 12 month FMLA measurement, remember to:
- Notify employees of FMLA rights and company policies
- Apply it equally to all staff members
WorkforceHub Simplifies FMLA
With WorkforceHub, you can easily notify staff members of FMLA rights and company policies regarding the 12 month measurement. WorkforceHub is an HR portal that employees can access on their phone, tablet, or work computer. WorkforceHub also makes it easy to create employee handbooks and update them as needed.
TimeWorksPlus Ensures Accurate Timekeeping
The simplest way to implement FMLA does not protect you from scenarios where a staff member takes 24 consecutive weeks of FMLA leave. TimeWorksPlus helps you administer any of the measurement methods. It’s especially useful for the rolling backward or forward measuring method.
TimeWorksPlus is the leading automated employee time tracking for small to mid-size businesses. WorkforceHub includes TimeWorksPlus.
Swipeclock offers WorkforceHub, the unified Human Resources portal that makes it easy to optimize the performance of your managers, employees, and company.
WorkforceHub includes TimeWorksPlus, TimeSimplicity, TimeWorks Mobile, and ApplicantStack. WorkforceHub is designed for busy employers who need to reduce cost-per-hire, streamline scheduling, automate time tracking, maintain regulatory compliance, and decrease labor costs.
We can get you up and running with WorkforceHub immediately. Contact us today to request a demo.
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