Roundup: Employment law predictions; Paid sick leave; TRAP provisions for employee training; When to investigate; FMLA leave and problem employees

Law is based on political boundaries. Although political boundaries are completely made up, the legal system has mostly worked because our human existence was based on people, places, and things. That's not so true anymore. And it shows.

Paid sick leave is a good thing. It helps sick employees recover faster and not spread illness to the rest of the people they work with. But dealing with paid sick leave laws means looking at all paid leave laws that apply and making sure that your sick leave and vacation policies work together.

Employers have paid to train their employees since there were employees and employers needed them to do things that required new knowledge or skills. It's part of being an employer and part of the cost of doing business. Don't try to retain employees by threatening with the cost of paying for training they received if they leave.

No? Fine.

Most employees don't want to make complaints because it creates drama, conflict, is disruptive, and it rarely goes well for the employees involved. How many employment investigations end in a clear finding of misconduct, discrimination, or harassment? Not many. So, first you need to figure out what's really going on.

Sometimes employees who are on protected leave use the leave to buy themselves time when they are already in trouble and about to get fired.

By the time the employee is "ready" to return, they have often depleted the patience of even the most serene HR professionals. (Usually the lawyers too.) The temptation is to just tell the employee, "Good luck in your future endeavors" and deal with the fallout.