Managing Leave for Parents of School-Age Children

With the new school year comes a lot of adjustments for students and their parents, many of whom also happen to be employees.  Many employers find themselves flooded with requests from employees asking for time off to attend those early school-year events such as a Special Education Placement Meeting, the kindergarten breakfast, or back-to-school night.  It often is hard to tell the difference between requests that require accommodation and shifting of workloads, and those that may be more discretionary.

One rule to keep in mind is to know your state law.  Many states have little-used laws requiring employers to accommodate some specific school-related parental tasks.  Before responding to an employee's request, or making a request of your employer, make sure you check the leave law, if there is one.  In Massachusetts, the Small Necessities Leave Act (the SNLA) provides employees whom meet the eligibility requirements under the federal Family Medical Leave Act with an additional 24 hours of leave per 12-month period, which may be taken in increments of one-hour or more in order to:

(1)  participate in school activities directly related to the educational advancement of a son or daughter of the employee, such as parent-teacher conferences or interviewing for a new school; or 

(2)  to accompany the son or daughter of the employee to routine medical or dental appointments, such as check-ups or vaccinations.

In addition, the SNLA also allows the 24 hours of leave to be used to accompany an elderly relative of the employee to routine medical or dental  appointments or appointments for other professional services related to the elder’s care, such as interviewing at nursing or group homes.   

While many employers are able to offer more generous leave than the law requires, when dealing with employees caring for their children (and parents) it is of vital importance to know what laws apply to your workplace before responding to leave requests. 

Happy September!!

Labor Day Thoughts

We celebrated Labor Day this past Monday.  While many people got their last hurrah of summer and sun, the day should not pass without a more than passing thought on the state of labor.  Statistics out this week claim that layoffs are finally down, and while unemployment remains high, employers are holding on to their pared down workforces but not hiring new employees while they figure out what is coming up down the road.  While this may sound like good general economic news, it may not really be so.  There is never a bad time to take stock of employees -- reward hard working, good employees and let them know that loyalty and hard work go in two directions.  That should mean hiring new employees when workflow causes the current workforce to become overworked and overtaxed.  On the other hand, no economic fears, or even hopes of increased business should keep a fair employer from fairly evaluating those employees whom time and again have shown that they do not have what it takes to contribute.  Let what happens in the workplace dictate how employees are treated, not hopes and fears about a slow to recover economy.  Fair employers and fair employees.  It is what every labor day really celebrates.   

Getting New Employees Off To The Right Start

Do you remember your first day at your current job?  Chances are you were pretty nervous.  Chances also are that you were overwhelmed with all the new people you were meeting, all the paperwork you were processing, and all the energy you were expending trying to figure out who and what was going to be important. To help employees start out right, help them hit the ground running.  For example, rather than leaving it up to individuals to make all the little things happen, give new employees the list of what they need to know to get on board and become productive and a cast of characters of the people who can provide that knowledge.  More senior hires should set up those meetings themselves and gather that information on their own.  Check in at the end of the first week to make sure things are on track and schedule a six-month and/or three-month check-in.  This gives an employee and an employer a hard target for thinking about and evaluating the new relationship. Of course if it is really not working out, feedback should be provided more immediately, but for most employees, it is good sense to know when you plan to formally check in and evaluate both sides of the relationship. Remember, nothing energizes an employee more than being told that she is off to a great start and performing above expectations. However, in those cases when the message is not as upbeat, everyone benefits from honest feedback and a chance to right the course before it becomes too late.    

Don't Learn The Hard Way

Characterizing leave appropriately is an important part of employee management.  Make sure that employees know what their entitlements are and that you have enough information to accurately characterize any leave an employee takes.  That means ask the questions up front, when the employee requests leave.  There are many overlapping state and federal leave laws, which often also overlap with company policies.  Let the employee know when you are counting the time under more than one policy or legal entitlement.  Let the employee know when he or she has exhausted all paid time off available.  And when there is any doubt, never dock an exempt employee's pay for time off without speaking to counsel or a well-trained HR benefits specialist.

HR Tip of the Day

Periodic, real performance evaluations are the single most effective tool in managing employees.  This is true for employees for whom you have only glowing feedback as well as those who need to really change what they are doing.  There are no exceptions.