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HR Matters
HR Matters - Volume XII, Issue 136
August 27, 2008
Labor & Employment News
Ohio Healthy Families Act ("OHFA") Update. Despite attempts at compromise, the OHFA will likely appear on the November 4 ballot. If approved, the OHFA would require employers with 25 or more employees to provide 7 paid sick days per year to each employee. Now is the time to review any paid leave policies in light of this pending legislation. If the OHFA passes, employers would be prohibited from making changes to paid leave policies that would eliminate or reduce any existing leave available to employees. Please contact us for more information, and look for a September letter from us providing more information on the OHFA.
No FMLA Documentation, No FMLA Claim for Wrongful Termination. On August 11, 2008, a federal court of appeals upheld the termination of an employee who routinely left work early due to a condition of exhaustion experienced post surgery. Despite demands by the employer for the employee to either resume working full time or to submit the requested Family Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") documentation, the employee never produced proper documentation. The Court ruled that the employer was within its rights to terminate the employee for failure to submit formal FMLA documentation after the employer explicitly requested the information. Ridings v. Riverside Medical Center.
Workplace Health & Safety News
Use of "Snail Mail" Undermines Voluntary Abandonment Defense. The employer sent a certified letter to an employee on Wednesday, May 11, 2005, that informed the employee that if he failed to appear for work on Friday, May 13, his absence would be construed as a "voluntary abandonment of employment." It is undisputed that the employee did not receive the certified letter until Saturday, May 14. The employee notified the employer on Monday, May 16 that he did not receive the certified letter until Saturday, but the employer terminated him anyway. The employee later applied for temporary total disability benefits. The employer objected to the benefits, but the Commission rejected the employer’s voluntary abandonment defense. The Ohio Supreme Court upheld lower decisions approving the benefits. The Court based its decision on the fact that the employee did not know the consequences of missing work on Friday, May 13, because he had not received the certified letter by then. State ex rel. Valley Interior Systems, Inc. v. Indus. Comm’n.
Immigration News
assport Cards. The Department of State and Homeland Security just announced that the new U.S. Passport Cards are in full production. The new card provides a less expensive and more portable alternative to the traditional passport book, and will expedite document processing at United States land and sea ports-of-entry for U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda. On 8/8/08, USCIS announced that a U.S. Passport Card can be used as a Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) "List A" document. If you would like more information on passport cards, please contact a Graydon Head Immigration attorney.
Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation News
Successor Liability. Recently, the United Stated District Court, Southern District of Ohio held that a successor employer was liable for the unpaid medical claims of the employees of the seller corporation in an asset deal. In Schilling v. Interim Healthcare of Upper Ohio Valley, the prior employer had established a self-insured medical plan and stopped paying claims under the plan. Soon after the company’s assets were sold, several employees sued the new employer under a theory of successor liability to recover the $340,000 of unpaid medical claims. This case is a great example of why a buyer should have all benefit plans reviewed by a benefits attorney as part of any corporate transaction.
IRS Announces Revised Correction Program. The IRS recently released an update of its voluntary correction program for retirement plans, known as the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System ("EPCRS"). The revised version of EPCRS is similar to the previous version, but it streamlines many of the correction procedures and adds several new beneficial features for plan sponsors. If you find that an error has occurred regarding administration of your retirement plan, we suggest that you contact an employee benefits attorney to determine the simplest and most cost effective way to fix the error and make sure that your correction method complies with the latest version of EPCRS.
This Newsletter is a periodic publication of Graydon Head & Ritchey LLP and should not be construed as legal advice or legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances. The contents are intended for general information purposes only, and you are urged to consult your own advisor concerning your situation and any specific legal question you may have.