Leaves From Work for Injuries and Other Medical Conditions Chris Jozwiak & Cassie Navarro Baillon Thome Jozwiak & Wanta LLP Penelope Phillips November 2015 Penny with an intro

Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Act All employers with one or more employees must either purchase workers’ compensation insurance to provide benefits to their employees for work-related injuries or obtain approval from the state to self-insure. The Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Act applies when an employee suffers an injury or illness that arises out of and occurs within the course of employment. Cassie

Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Act Employee is broadly defined as: “any person who performs services for another for hire” This includes actors and actresses Cassie

Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Act Workers’ Compensation covers: Medical care for the work injury, as long as it is reasonable and necessary Wage-loss benefits for part of the employee’s lost income Benefits for permanent damage or loss of function of a body part Benefits to an employee’s spouse and/or dependents if the employee dies from a work injury Vocational rehabilitation services if the employee cannot return to his/her pre-injury job or pre-injury employer Cassie

Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Act Employer’s Responsibilities May need to provide intermittent leave, part-time work, or a more flexible than usual work schedule, until maximum medical improvement is reached. An employee who is off work due to a work-related injury cannot be required to use paid time off. Employee’s Responsibilities Must keep the employer informed of his or her return-to- work status and current medical restrictions status. Cassie

Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Act An employer cannot: Retaliate against an employee for seeking workers’ compensation benefits by firing or threatening to fire an employee OR intentionally obstructing an employee from seeking workers’ compensation benefits Employer could be liable for damages, attorneys fees and costs, and punitive damages Refuse to offer continued employment when employment is available within an injured employee’s restrictions Employer could be liable for one year of wages, up to a maximum of $15,000. Cassie

Minnesota Human Rights Act & the Americans with Disabilities Act Employers with 15 or more employees must reasonably accommodate disabled employees Employee must have a qualifying disabling condition A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; A record of such an impairment; or Being regarded as having such an impairment Employer does not have to make a requested accommodation that would cause an “undue hardship” to the employer. Significant difficulty or expense in providing a requested accommodation. Penny We will discuss this in more detail next week, but consider that if an employer refuses to provide an accommodation and fires a disabled employee, the employer could still be liable for disability discrimination because under the MHRA, an employer need only have one employee.

Minnesota Human Rights Act & the Americans with Disabilities Act Employer must engage in an “interactive process” to determine whether an employee’s work restrictions (related to a workers’ comp injury or a disability), can be accommodated. Accommodations under the MHRA and the ADA may include: Part-time or modified work schedules Granting of a leave of absence Extension of a separately protected leave Penny

The Family & Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) Federal law that provides eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job- protected leave every 12 months for certain types of parenting or medical leaves. Penny

FMLA Eligible Employees Requirements for application of FMLA: Employee has been employed for at least 12 months Employee has worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before the leave starts Employee must work at a worksite where the employer employs 50 or more employees within 75 miles of that worksite. Penny

FMLA, cont. Employees are eligible to take FMLA for: The birth of a child; Adoption or foster care; Because of their own or a family member’s serious health condition; Certain emergent circumstances related to an immediate family member’s military obligations; or The care of a service member due to illness or injury Penny

FMLA: Employer’s Obligations Must maintain health care coverage for the employee while on leave An employer must reinstate an employee who has taken leave to the same or an equivalent position, with equivalent benefits, pay, and other terms of employment. Employer cannot interfere with or deny an employee his or her FMLA rights Employer cannot fire or otherwise discriminate against an employee for exercising his or her FMLA rights Penny

Minnesota Parenting Leave Act Also mandates that employers provide eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the birth of a child, or for a female employee needing time away due to prenatal care or incapacity due to pregnancy, childbirth, or related health conditions. Applies to employers with 21 or more employees. Employees must work at least half-time and employed for at least 12 months. Cassie

Other Applicable Statutes Women’s Economic Security Act (“WESA”) Permits employees to use “personal sick leave benefits” for absences due to the illness or injury of the employee’s child, adult child, spouse, sibling, parent, grandparent, step- parent, father/mother-in-law, or grandchild. “Personal sick leave benefits” means time accrued and available to an employee to be used as a result of absence from work due to illness or injury. Similar requirements to the Minnesota Parenting Leave Act: Employer must have 21 or more employees at at least one site Eligible employees must work at least half-time for 12 consecutive months before the leave begins Cassie

Questions?