The U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently reversed a decision of a U.S. District Court in Florida involving the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). As revealed by the court’s reversal, there are some important lessons to be learned about complying with the FMLA.

In an effort to attract and retain valuable employees, several large national companies are implementing updated leave policies to provide paid time off for employees who welcome a new child. The most recent news comes from Netflix, which announced its new policy of allowing full-time salaried employees in Netflix’s streaming division unlimited paid leave for a year following the birth or adoption of a child. Netflix’s announcement last month comes on the heels of several other companies who are providing paid time off to new parents.

To assist employers in complying with the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor has issued some model forms for use in the medical certification process. Using these forms is a great way for an employer to ensure compliance with the FMLA. These forms have recently been updated because of some changes to the FMLA. The new forms are available here:

On February 25, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor announced an important change in the definition of spouse under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The new rule was to take effective on March 27, 2015. But on March 26, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor of Texas issued a temporary restraining order putting the kibosh on the rule change.