Discussion Topic #1 — FMLA

Please watch this video and then read and complete the following.

Joe has had a difficult life. His parents separated when he was an infant. His mother began drinking heavily to deal with her depression and became alcoholic. Social Services intervened to remove Joe from his mother's care. Joe's grandmother took Joe in and raised him from infancy.

Joe is now employed for your company which is situated in California.

His grandmother needs a serious operation on her eyes and will require constant monitoring and help 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Joe asks for 6 weeks unpaid leave from his important job to provide care for his grandmother.

Your boss comes to you – "Are we legally obligated to grant Joe unpaid leave and guarantee him his job?"

Draft a one-page memo to your boss: 

1. What are the Federal FMLA eligibility requirements relative to Joe being able to take unpaid leave and have a guaranteed job, to take care of his grandmother?

2. What are the Calif FMLA eligibility requirements relative to Joe being able to take unpaid leave and have a guaranteed job, to take care of his grandmother?  Only address differences between Calif FMLA and Fed FMLA, if any, as to the question of Joe being able to leave to take care of his grandmother? 

 Here are two links for your reference.

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Discussion Topic #2 — Employee Termination

Situation – As the HR Director, you have been asked by a supervisor Tommy to provide guidance on an employee that they want to terminate.

Write a memo to the supervisor Tommy to address the following:

1. As the HR professional, discuss the concepts that employees serve "at will," and can be fired at any time, for any reason that isn't illegal.

2. The supervisor has indicated there is a situation of poor performance, some attendance problems, and that the employee is just "not working out." However, the supervisor is concerned that the employee might retaliate by claiming discrimination, since the employee is part of a protected class.

3. What documentation should the supervisor have?

4. What else would you advise the supervisor to be aware of?

Use a minimum of two HR/legal references to support your conclusions.  You must substantively respond to at least one colleague for Topic 2 this Week 5. 

 Here are two references for you to consider:

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