School Visitation Law Update

August 4th, 2010 Posted by Cara

A number of states require the employer to give employees time off  to attend school events such as -teacher conferences and classroom events. This includes , Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, , Nevada, , and — all have school visitation laws.

 

The Colorado Academic Activities Law applies to employers with 50 or more workers. It permits the parent or of a K-12 student to take off 6 hours per month in increments of up to 3 hours each, up to a total of 18 hours per academic year. may be substituted for the unpaid school visitation , but the law does not apply to supervisory employees.

 

Illinois provides for parents and guardians to take up to 8 hours of unpaid leave

 

California has two separate school visitation laws that prevent the employer from taking any negative action against employees who take unpaid school visitation leave. One law applies to (more…)

No Comments >> Posted in California,Colorado,Employee Benefits,Family,Family,Other,Paid Leave,Paid Leave
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Colorado FMLA

May 23rd, 2007 Posted by Amelia

Whether you’re a father or a mother, there’s a good chance you’re also a wage or salary earner.

Between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, then, may be a good time to take a look at the program designed to help you during those times when you must take the emphasis off work and put it directly on your family.

The FMLA law is the program offering you the support you need for critical times. Those times could be good – the birth of a child, an adoption, receiving a foster child into the home. They could be difficult – a loved one being in an accident requiring a hospital stay or rehab, or a serious illness in your immediate family. In either case, the program allows you up to 12 weeks of () if you fall under the allowable circumstances. If you work for a private business, your employer is obliged to follow the Family and Medical Leave Act if the workplace employs 50 or more people. Pubic employees and teachers are eligible even if staff sizes are smaller than 50.

Unpaid leave raises complications around medical coverage. Normally, your workplace coverage would be for by payroll deductions. But when you’re on unpaid leave, where does that premium money come from? The answer is, your employer is likely to consider it an advance on a future paycheck. When you return, you’ll find the cost of your medical coverage premium appearing as a deduction from your wages. You and your employer should sit down and sign an agreement to avoid misunderstandings that could arise as a result of this legal issue.

Under Colorado FMLA you and your employer must follow certain guidelines. For example, the employer must keep you informed. He or she must provide you with a notification in writing immediately, letting you know how to keep in touch to insure you maintain your good status with the workplace. You in turn must respond to those instructions promptly. The Colorado FMLA poster should be prominent at every jobsite.

No Comments >> Posted in Colorado,Employee Benefits,Family,Paid Leave

Colorado Employee Benefit

May 23rd, 2007 Posted by Amelia

As an employer, you may have questions about how a recent ruling will impact employee benefit plans. This ruling was issued by the Employee Benefits Security Administration, also known as EBSA. EBSA is a federal agency, and its role is to monitor pension and health insurance law compliance by businesses. Most businesses are covered by EBSA.

The recent ruling pertains to how group health insurance plans handle benefits for mental health treatments. Although this ruling was released quietly, it can have a significant impact. The ruling pertains to the Mental Health Parity Act, also known as MHPA.  This act was extended through the end of 2007.  MHPA became a law originally in 1996. At the time, it was to expire at the end of September, 2001. Instead of expiring, though, the law has been extended 5 times.

This law requires that group health insurance plans place the same limits on mental health coverage that they place on other medical treatments. Insurance companies used to be able to set a maximum lifetime benefit for medical treatments and surgery at one amount and then set a lifetime benefit maximum for mental health treatments at a lower amount. MHPA requires that these amounts be the same.

For instance, if a group health insurance plan has a lifetime maximum benefit for surgery or other medical treatments of $250,000, the lifetime maximum benefit for mental health treatments also has to be $250,000. This rule also applies to the benefit amounts allowed per year. The coverage amount allowed for medical treatments must be the same as the amount allowed for mental health treatments.

The mental health treatments covered by the heath insurance plan can include stays in a drug or alcohol rehab and stays in mental hospitals for illness such as schizophrenia or depression. Visits to psychiatrists, psychologists, and licensed therapists are also included.  

No Comments >> Posted in Colorado,Employee Benefits,Family,Insurance Benefits,Medical