Q Our company employs EMTs, nurses, nurse practitioners, and doctors to provide on-site medical care at locations like construction sites, infrastructure projects, and manufacturing plants. They may not always have another assignment right away but are usually interested in future assignments with the company. In terms of payroll, to avoid repeated extensive onboarding, should we lay them off and rehire them or place them on unpaid, indefinite leave?
This issue can depend on a number of things, including the law of the state where the employee works. For medical professionals, there are generally extensive background checks that must be performed, as well as licensure assessment. TB testing is standard, too, and likely drug tests.
In many states, if there’s a substantial period of layoff or if they’re fired, then you would have to redo the background checks and other items. There may also be liability insurance issues attached to this, and you’ll want to discuss any issues with your liability provider. Unemployment compensation is also state-dependent, and layoff versus termination may matter in certain states. However, in many states, employees qualify for the same job service benefits regardless of what the separation in service is called.
There can be issues with a large non-working group of employees, ranging from risk analysis, possibly bumping over the threshold for certain laws to apply, and for the purposes of a future potential group in the case of a unionization campaign.
Q We have an employee whose child has monthly appointments for braces maintenance. Would this time off fall under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)?
In general, standard dental work like braces doesn’t qualify for leave under the FMLA. Specialty work like jaw surgery is more likely to qualify.
Jo Ellen Whitney is an attorney with Dentons Davis Brown in Des Moines. You can reach her at joellen.whitney@dentons.com.
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