Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, April 23, 1993                   TAG: 9304230198
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOHN CUNNIFF ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                LENGTH: Medium

LAWYERS COULD BENEFIT A LOT FROM NEW FAMILY LEAVE ACT

Much of the law is open to interpretation. While consultants may provide advice on how to implement company programs, tricky enough under the vague guidelines, it may take court cases to define issues.

Under the law, companies employing more than 50 workers within a 75-mile area must give workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the care of a newborn or for a family medical emergency.

But consider these situations posed by one consultant, the Wyatt Co.:

An employee returning from leave is entitled to resume his or her original or equivalent position, with equal pay and benefits. How do you define "equivalent position?"

A highly paid employee can be denied leave if to grant it would mean "substantial and grievous economic injury" to the employer. But how do you define "injury" and which employees are included in the exempted category?

While the bill is the law, the philosophical arguments that preceded it are bound to continue as such questions are thrashed out, perhaps painfully and expensively.

Opponents of the original bill are likely to say "I told you so" when such issues are contested. They held out for nearly eight years, getting two vetoes by President Bush, but they lost out as big-business opposition faded and the bill was viewed increasingly as just another employee benefit.

The law says companies must give employees with at least one year of service and 1,250 hours of work in the past 12 months up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family and medical emergencies of four types: the birth of a child; arrival of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care; care for a son, daughter, spouse or parent with a serious health condition; and an employee's own serious health condition.

The complications are many. How would you handle these?

Under the law, employers can require that workers take all accumulated paid leave, such as vacation days, personal days, floating holidays and the like, as part of the 12-week leave period. But, Glynn reminds employers, to compel employees to make such choices might not make good business sense or good employee relations.

Employers must provide workers on leave with the same health-care coverage they offer active employees. No complications if the employer pays the entire premium, but some require workers to pay part of their health coverage. Can the employer deny coverage if the employee on leave fails to pay his or her share of premiums?

To be eligible for continued health benefits during the leave, the law says the worker must return from leave. But what would you do if an employee returned for one day, then quit? What if the employee never returns?

Would you hire a consultant? Hire a lawyer? Or maybe hire both?