FMLA Master Class

The Family and Medical Leave Act has been around for 30 years, but still can be the most challenging and confusing part of an HR professional’s job. FMLA regulations are complex and the consequences for noncompliance are severe. Take charge of leave requests while staying within the law.

FMLA includes so many little compliance steps, notification rules and paperwork traps. And mistakes are costly. Since 2012, employee lawsuits claiming FMLA violations have more than tripled. And many of those cases result in million-dollar verdicts or settlements—all because of a simple FMLA mistake at the HR or manager level. Plus, your employees have become experts at playing the FMLA game to their advantage. (It’s nicknamed the “Friday-Monday Leave Act” for a very good reason!)

What exactly counts as a qualifying serious condition? Does plastic surgery count? How many hours of FMLA leave does a part-time employee have? How do you manage those small “incremental” leaves? What’s the best way to handle certification? When can you talk to the employee’s doctor? How do you coordinate FMLA with all those state and local leave laws?

On February 14, find out how to prevent and correct FMLA compliance problems and effectively manage every step of the FMLA process. The FMLA Master Class is the ideal compliance training for anyone who handles FMLA as part of their job.

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Course Schedule

FMLA Compliance Essentials

You’ll start at the very beginning with an overview of the law, common types of leave and how to determine eligibility and set your calendar year. You’ll also learn about upcoming changes to federal and state laws regarding paid leave.

Topics Include: +
  • Sick, pregnancy, child bonding, military-related leave and other criteria
  • How to calculate eligibility based on years of service and hours worked
  • Providing the right notices at the right time
  • Managing unusual situations, such as unconventional family structures and relationships, it could even include siblings
  • What happens when a holiday surrounds FMLA leave there’s brand new guidance
  • Understanding the DOL definition of “child” and “parent” … it's broader than you think!

Certifying & Controlling Intermittent Leave

The trickiest and most frequently abused aspect of FMLA is intermittent leave. You’ll master how it works, when it applies, how to manage it and what to do when it isn’t working or is being abused.

Topics Include: +
  • Allowable reasons for intermittent leave
  • How to document and track intermittent certification and when you can demand an immediate recertification
  • When intermittent leave is a right — and when it isn’t
  • When intermittent leave means a permanent reduced schedule.

Managing Accommodations, Preventing Abuse

As the pandemic proved, the FMLA has a lot of loopholes that can be abused, and a lot of restrictions that can shut employees out from taking the time they need. Discover solutions to the complexity of managing leave so that everyone benefits—including your organization.

Topics Include: +
  • How to respond when employees need additional leave after using up their FMLA & PTO
  • Coordinating the intersection of ADA reasonable accommodations and FMLA leave
  • How to spot FMLA leave abuse and what to do when you suspect it
  • How the EEOC’s new caregiver discrimination guidance fits into FMLA leave

Return to Work

You must return employees to the same or “equivalent” jobs after FMLA. In this final section, you’ll learn the details to create a successful return-to-work program, plus how to address the challenges that come with it, including discharge, ADA impacts and other reinstatement rules.

Topics Include: +
  • Discovering poor performance or wrongdoing during FMLA absence
  • How the ADA affects the employee’s return
  • Documentation and certification necessary for reinstatement
  • When you can fire a worker out on FMLA
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Anniken Davenport photo

Anniken Davenport is an attorney and a well-known author and speaker on employment law issues. She is the editor of the HR Specialist: Employment Law newsletter series and has authored several books, including The FMLA Compliance Guide, Bullet-Proof Your Employee Handbook and Employer’s Practical Legal Guide. She is the co-author of the upcoming Labor & Employment Law for the 21st Century, by Prentice Hall. Anniken has served as a professor at Penn State University, where she taught business law and HR management, and she directed the Legal Studies Program at Wilson College.

Direct Access to Your Instructor

Each session includes dedicated Q&A discussion time, plus you can contact Anniken throughout the program with your own specific questions.

"Very good! I could easily understand what the speaker was talking about and the hand outs have good information to reference."

Raechel G., St Clair RXIII School District

"For being a very complicated issue I found it very informative. I would highly recommend this to anyone that is new to administering the FMLA in their job."

Cathy M., Douglass Properties

"Great info, love the quizzes! PowerPoint was clear & easy to follow, and the handouts were helpful resources."

Sonya Z., Keiki O Ka Aina Family Learning Centers

"The class was very informative and I feel like I learned numerous things from it."

Shelley F., Teton County

Course Materials, Samples & Templates


Course Materials

Tailored course materials and handouts for all four sessions. You’ll receive specific tools to help you master the FMLA essentials, certify and control intermittent leave, manage accommodations, prevent abuse and handle returns to work.

Samples & Templates

Providing the proper forms is critical to administering FMLA correctly. These samples and templates cover your bases, and are easy to edit and customize for all of your FMLA needs.


Satisfaction Guaranteed

If the FMLA Master Class fails to meet your needs, we will refund 100% of your tuition, no questions asked — and your course materials and bonus gifts are yours to keep.

Business Management Daily is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDC) for SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP® recertification activities.

HR Certification Institute’s® (www.HRCI.org) official seal confirms that Business Management Daily meets the criteria for pre-approved recertification credit(s) for any of HRCI’s eight credentials, including SPHR® and PHR®. This program has been pre-approved for 3.50 HR-General recertification credit hours.

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