"It is the purpose of the Act to balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of families... to entitle employees to take reasonable leave for medical reasons, for the birth or adoption of a child, and for the care of a child, spouse, or parent who has a serious health condition."
In a Unionized setting members can enforce the FMLA by filing grievances, Department of Labor (DOL) charges, or lawsuits.
FMLA allows you leave for up to 12 weeks per 12 month period if you are unable to work because of a serious health condition. Leave may be taken on a continuous, intermittent, or reduced schedule basis. Time off does not have to be planned.
You may not be disciplined, suspended, fired, or denied advancement because of FMLA absences!
Colds, Flus, Bronchitis, Ear Aches/Infections, Headaches (Other Than Migraines), Food Poisoning, Upset Stomachs, Poison Ivy, Minor Ulcers, Gum Diseases, Hay Fever, Tooth Extractions
To qualify for FMLA, you must be incapacitated due to a "serious health condition." A serious health condition is an illness, injury, or condition that involves one or more of the following:
A serious chronic health condition is defined as a condition which:
-ILLNESS OR INJURY LASTING MORE THAN 3 DAYS-
An illness or injury is serious if it both:
You are incapacitated if you are unable to perform an essential job function. The ability to perform light-duty work is not relevant.
Consecutive days = calendar days, not work days.
Treatment on two or more occasions by a health care provider, or treatment on a single occasion which results in a regimen of supervised treatment. Treatment includes exams to determine if a serious health condition exists, and treatment to resolve or alleviate the condition. Talking with your MD does not count!
Over-the-counter meds, exercise, or rest don't count, either!
A course of antibiotic or prescription medications does count.
A request for a reduced schedule, certified as necessary by a health care provider, cannot be refused even if part-time work is inefficient.
The FMLA insists that you make reasonable efforts to schedule medical treatments so as to not "disrupt unduly" he operations of the employer. A DOL regulation amplifies this obligation by requiring you to consult with management, prior to making appointments, which meet the needs of both parties.
Example: A nurse, absent on nine occasions over a six-month period, was suspended for absenteeism. During the grievance process, the union established that five absences were needed to take care of an asthmatic child and three resulted from a chronic back condition. In each case the nurse called in promptly. Since eight absences qualify under the FMLA, the employer can only rely legally on one absence. This is not enough to justify a suspension.
-EMPLOYER NOTICE REQUIREMENTS-Employers must inform employees about the FMLA by:
Displaying FMLA posters
Describing the FMLA in employee handbooks & benefit documents
Notifying employees who are ineligible for FMLA leave
Notifying eligible employees in writing of FMLA status, rights, and responsibilities [Sect. 301]
Notifying employees in writing when a paid leave is designated as FMLA leave.
If you qualify for FMLA coverage, SBMC must give or mail you a notice designating your leave as FMLA-qualifying and listing your specific rights and responsibilities. With reference to the application regulation, this is called "Section 301 notice". This notice must inform you:
Section 301 notice must be provided to you within 2 business days of when you inform SBMC of your need for FMLA leave. If your leave has begun, the notice may be mailed to your home.
An employer that fails to provide a required Section 301 notice cannot punish an employee, disallow leave, or deny reinstatement due to an employee's failure to comply with the obligations required to be described in the notice. Nor may the absence be applied to the employee's 12 week FMLA entitlement.
An employer who cannot determine whether an absence qualifies under the FMLA can, within two days, issue a notice "provisionally" designating the absence as FMLA pending receipt of medical certification or other reasonable documentation.
| If you've been disciplined or did not receive a copy of 301 regulations from SBMC within 2 days from your absence for an FMLA-qualifying condition, you have the right to file a lawsuit or file a charge with the Department Of Labor Wage and Hour Division. Always call NJNU. |
Department of Labor
200 Sheffield St.
Mountainside, NJ 07092
(973) 645-2279
NJNU
P.O. Box 2008
Livingston, NJ 07039
(973) 992-6568
You have 2 years to file a lawsuit or charge with the Department of Labor.
More FMLA info will be coming soon!
An educated membership is a strong membership!!!
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was signed into law on August 21, 1996 and was the result of efforts to reform healthcare. The goals and objectives of this act are to reduce paperwork, make it easier to detect fraud and abuse and it enables workers of all professions to change jobs even if they had pre-existing medical conditions. It also protects many workers who lose health coverage by providing better access to individual health insurance coverage and it guarantees security and privacy of health information.
Highlights:
Title I. (Healthcare Access, Portability and Renew ability) This section allows persons to qualify immediately for comparable health coverage when they change their place of employment. It eliminates some pre-existing condition exclusions and prohibits discrimination based on health status.
Title II. (Preventing Healthcare Fraud and Abuse; Administrative Simplification; Medical Liability Reform) Replaces the currently used non-standard transaction formats with a single set of electronic standards to be used throughout the industry. This system will help to easily detect and prosecute fraud and abuse.
Title III. (Tax Related Health Provisions) Addressed issues such as medical savings accounts, health insurance tax deductions for those who are self employed, and long term care services and contracts.
Title IV. (Application and Enforcement of Group Health Plan Requirements) Application and enforcement of group health plan provisions and clarifies continuation of coverage requirements.
Title V. (Revenue Offsets) This section addresses many issues included company owned life insurance, treatment of individuals who lose US citizenship.
The Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information are designed to help keep the medical records of patients secure and confidential. Security is established through administrative procedures, physical safeguards, and technical security mechanisms to guard against unauthorized access via computer. Privacy topics include the rights of individuals, consent and authorization process/procedures and organized healthcare arrangements.
Q. Is there a law that protects health care workers from being forced to work overtime?
A. Yes. The New Jersey Mandatory Overtime Restrictions for Health Care Facilities stipulates the conditions under which health care facilities may require certain hourly employees to work overtime. The law is contained in N.J.S.A. 34:11-56a31 et seq. The regulations are contained in N.J.A.C. 8:43E-8.1 et seq.
Q. Who is covered under the law for mandatory overtime restrictions?
A. Hourly workers who are involved in direct patient care activities or clinical services and are employed by a health care facility (see below for definition of health care facility). This may include nurses and nurse’s aides, but not doctors. For a list of employees that are not covered, click on N.J.A.C. 8:43E-8-2.
Q. What is a “health care facility?”
A. A “health care facility” means a health care facility licensed by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, a State or county psychiatric hospital, a State developmental center, or a health care service firm registered by the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety.
Examples of a health care facility include hospitals, nursing homes, outpatient clinics, comprehensive rehabilitation hospitals, residential health care facilities, residential drug and alcohol treatment facilities, adult day health care facilities, assisted living residences, comprehensive personal care homes, home health care agencies, hospice care agencies, maternal and child health consortia, and health care service firms.
Q. Are health care facilities required to post a notice regarding the mandatory overtime restrictions?
A. Yes. Health care facilities are required to post the notice “New Jersey Mandatory Overtime Restrictions for Health Care Facilities” (MW-377) in a conspicuous place.
Q. Can an employer fire an employee who refuses to work overtime?
A. If the employee is a “covered” health care worker under the law for Mandatory Overtime Restrictions for Health Care Facilities, the employer is prohibited from discriminating or discharging an employee who refuses to work overtime.
Q. When can a health care facility require certain hourly employees to work overtime?
A. In order to comply with the provisions of the law, a health care facility must meet the following three requirements:
The required overtime must be in response to an unforeseeable emergent circumstance and only as a last resort and not used to fill vacancies resulting from chronic short staffing.
An “unforeseeable emergent circumstance” means an event that is unpredictable and non-recurring relating to health care delivery that requires immediate action.
“Chronic short staffing” means a situation characterized by long standing vacancies that remain unfilled over a period of 90 days or more.
The employer has exhausted reasonable efforts to obtain staffing. This means that the employer shall:
The employer shall provide the employee with necessary time, up to a maximum of one hour, to arrange for the care of the employee’s minor children or elderly or disabled family members.
Q. What can I do if I was required to work overtime but I do not believe my employer met the requirements of the law?
A. If you believe that your employer did not meet the requirements of the law, you can file a Mandatory Overtime Complaint form (MW-31OT). Click on the form number to obtain a copy of this form or contact the Division of Wage and Hour Compliance at (609) 292-2305. Submit the completed form by mail, fax, or e-mail to the address shown at the top of the form.
Q. What happens after I file a Mandatory Overtime Complaint?
A. After the Division of Wage and Hour Compliance receives your complaint, you will be sent a letter acknowledging its receipt. Your complaint will be reviewed to ensure that the type of work you do and the employer you work for are covered under the law for Mandatory Overtime Restrictions. Your employer will then be notified that a complaint has been filed. Your employer will also be supplied with a copy of your complaint and asked to complete a questionnaire regarding the mandatory overtime.
After your employer’s response is received, it will be reviewed and a decision will be made whether the employer met the requirements of the law. Both you and your employer will be notified of the outcome. An employer who is in violation of the law will be subject to monetary penalties in accordance with N.J.A.C. 12:56-1. The person who filed the complaint will not be compensated for any damages collected from the employer.
To make a contribution:
Workers are entitled to certain fundamental rights in the course of earning a living. These include:
You should know your workers rights and to help you, NJNU Local 1091 is providing you with an easy way to download those rights, sometimes referred to as the Weingarten Rules, based on the Weingarten decision. We have the Weingarten Rules posted here in two (2) formats that you to download and print out. To download, click the link and follow instructions, or right click and then "Save Target As...".