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As a practical matter, employers and the Paid FMLA Authority will be working together on the issue of pay with the new law. Connecticut has hired AFLAC as the Authority’s pay administrator and it’s clear that getting information from employers through the state will be part of the “Should this employee be paid?” issue. In this session, you will learn how to address employee questions on the Who? How? How Much? and When? of the payment process. We’ll cover STD benefits and state FMLA pay, what to do about group health coverage and other benefits when and employee goes out on leave, as well as the issues of holiday pay and bonuses. You will learn: · State of Readiness: The Paid Leave Authority’s outreach; · AFLAC’s Role in Paid Leave Administration; · The Critical Distinction Between Time and Money in the Paid Leave Law; · Basic Knowledge: Knowing the pay formula; · Pay Variations, Bonuses, Severance, Holiday Pay, PTO; · Why “Regular Pay” Does Not Mean What Employees and Employers Think It Means; · Short Term Disability Plans: The “double dipping” issue; · AFLAC Calling: What information you should anticipate you’ll be asked for; · What You’ll Know or Not Know About Employee’s Being Paid or Denied Payment From the Paid Leave Authority; · Qualified for Pay/Not Qualified for Leave: How paid leave will work with the ineligible-for-leave employee.

Simply put, the uninformed manager or supervisor who does not know the basics of leave rights can create significant liability for FMLA violations. In this session, we will concentrate on giving managers and supervisors the basics of the Family and Medical Leave Acts in plain talk, their obligations under the law and the “dos” and “don’ts” of dealing with the FMLA. We’ll also cover the “Bermuda Triangle” of leaves: FMLA, ADA and Worker Compensation. The session will begin and end with a 10 problem self-test on FMLA. Managers and Supervisors will learn: · The Supervisor’s Legal Responsibility in FMLA as an “Agent” of the Company; · An Overview of Laws Creating Leave Rights; · What the Cases Tell Us About Management Mistakes; · Working with Your HR Professional (if you are lucky enough to have one) on Leave Issues; · The Basics of FMLA: What “protected leave” means; Who is protected?; From what?; · Which Employees are Eligible for Leave: Length of service for state and federal laws; · Reason for Leave - Why Employees Can Take Leave under Federal and Connecticut Law; · How Leave Can be Taken: Continuous leave, intermittent leave and reduced leave; · Going Back to Work: What job is the employee entitled to?; · Overstaying leave: What happens?; · Employee Problems: Coming back only part time; “I don’t want to take my FMLA now;” medical restrictions; absenteeism, and performance appraisals; · Hiring the Temporary Substitute for the Out-on-Leave Employee; · Understanding FMLA lawsuits: Retaliation and interference claims; · Other Laws Related to the FMLA and in particular, the ADA, Pregnancy Disability and Workers Comp; · The Meaning of “informal, interactive discussion of reasonable accommodation.”

Connecticut and Federal law have been vastly different with respect to notices, forms and deadlines. In this session, you will learn about the notices to your current employees, leave takers, and new hires you are required to provide and when they must get them, and the forms and posters you are required to use. Among the topics we’ll cover: · What State and Federal Law Say About the Forms, Notices, Websites and Handbooks; · When the New Notice Obligations Take Effect; · Notification to Job Applicants; · Posting Requirements; · The Federal Versus State Forms: What forms and what versions will be required by state and/or federal law; · Notice by the Employee: Timing, manner of providing notice and content; · Notice of Eligibility for Leave; · Rights and Responsibility Notice; · Designation Notice; · Serious Health Condition Certification: Content, follow up, recertification, employee’s failure to provide the certification; · The Forms “Mistake”: What happens when you have not sent the notices to the employee; · Record Keeping: What records must be kept and for how long; · DOL’s Review of Records.

No step in the FMLA compliance process is more important than creating or revising your organization’s policy on Family and Medical Leave. With a well-developed FMLA policy, an organization can make decisions systematically and consistently; without one, an organization is left with case-by-case decision-making and opening the door to legal problems. In this session you will learn: • The 7 Essential Topics You Must Cover in Any Time-Off Policy including PFMLA; • The Structure of Your FMLA Policy; • Cautionary Tales: What FMLA lawsuits tell us about policy mistakes; • Policy Differences: State leave only or state and federal leave combined; • The Special Problem of the Expanded Definition of Family under PFMLA; • Other Policies Affected: Vacation, PTO, and pregnancy disability; • Special Policy Considerations: Out-of-State Employees, temporary employees, breaks in service; • The 12-month Measurement Period Issue: Examples and the pros and cons of the measurement options; The 12-month period the authority is adopting; • What to Say about Group Health and Other Benefits in your FMLA policy; (including the employee who does not make the premium payments or doesn’t come back); • Informing Employees of Their Responsibilities to the Company in Their Need for Leave; • What your Policy Should Say About Medical Certifications; • What Your Policy Should Say About “so close to the employee” Family Relationships; • Restoration: What your policy should say about returning from leave.

This session is designed for the employer with fewer than 50 employees and has not had to consider state or federal family and medical leave acts until now. We will begin with a review of the laws giving leave rights and clarify which laws do not. We will then focus on the basics of the Connecticut Paid Family and Medical Leave Act. You will learn which of your employees will be entitled to leave based on the length of employment and the reasons for being off. We will address the traps of “we are too busy to have you out-we’ll have to let you go,” the matter of workers’ compensation, group health coverage for the employee on leave and your obligations to return the employee to work. You will learn: • Laws Providing the Right to be Off the Job and Not be Fired; • Three Questions You Must Answer in Looking at Leaves; • Connecticut Leave Law versus Federal Leave; • Deaf Ears: Three small employer arguments that will not work; • The Stakes: Enforcement, remedies and litigation; • The Connecticut PFMLA Law: The basics; • How Leave May be Taken: Reduced and intermittent leave rules; • Notice and Information Requirements; • Medical Certifications; • Understanding The FMLA Pay Formula; • Pay and Benefits: STD, PTO and vacations and the “two-week rule,” group health and other benefits, and getting paid by the state; • Restoration Rights.

In this webinar designed for larger employers (50 or more employees), we will give an up-to-date review of the Connecticut Paid Family and Medical Leave Act. We will review unique aspects of the state FMLA and examine the differences between the state and federal law. We will provide the latest updates from our discussions with the Connecticut Department of Labor's legal team on the steps the Connecticut DOL has and will be taking to ready the state for implementation. Among the topics we will cover: • What we learned from Massachusetts’ 2020 paid leave implementation; • Coverage Basics: The out-of-state employer and employees, temp agencies, independent contractors, and out-of-state employees: • Leave Law Comparison: State v. federal leave; • Understanding Leave Stacking: Where it applies and where it doesn’t; • The Definition of Family: Common law marriage and “like family” complications in the state law; • Reduced and Intermittent Leave Rules; • Notice and Information Requirements; • Medical Certifications and Proof of Family Relationships; • Pay and Benefits: STD, PTO, state pay, group health and other benefits; • Restoration Rights; • Interference, Discrimination and Retaliation Claims; • Eight Action Steps to Consider Now.