Ten Years of FMLA Insights

FMLA Insights Audience

• The main audience for the blog is made up of two segments, In-House Counsel and HR Professionals
• Both In-House Counsel and HR Professionals are the people who can truly take advantage of the blog and what teachings it has to offer

The Feeling of Success

• FMLA Insights has been recognized as one of the Top 10 Employment blogs for several years.
• The ABA Journal – the flagship publication of the American Bar Association – named Mr. Nowak and FMLA Insights to their Blogger’s Hall of Fame in 2016
• Mr. Nowak finds it most satisfying that he has been able to make a genuine connection with people through his blog.

Creating Content

• Inspiration, often encompassing current events and personal experiences, is the main driver for the content creation process for the blog.
• The most common new posts are concerning a significant court decision that many clients are currently struggling with or addressing a common issue that readers are raising.
• Employees or employers “behaving badly” is another source of inspiration for blog posts.
• Questions from readers are also a great source for creating new content.
  • Employees will often call in looking for help.
  • Clients will also get in contact looking for a specific topic to be covered on the blog. 
• The initial goal at FMLA Insights was to post a new blog about once a week, but has transitioned to shooting for about 2-3 posts per month. 
• The value of the blog is that so much content has been posted over the years, questions or topics covered years ago still have applications and relevance today. 
• Currently, Mr. Nowak has never been busier than when writing about the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA),discussing employer and employee paid leave during the pandemic. 

Ten Years of FMLA Insights

• May 26th, 2020 marked the ten year anniversary of the blog.
  • A post celebrating this momentous anniversary was posted on May 26th.
• Mr. Nowak pronounced his Top 10 Tools Employers Can Use to Keep Employees Honest post as the most practical of his ten years authoring the blog. 
• More than any other topic, readers inquire about intermittent leave.
  • This is a difficult topic for employers to administer and can be susceptible to abuse by employees. 
  • Blog posts concerning intermittent leave tend to be some of the better performing posts even years down the road. 
  • There is an entire subsection of the blog dedicated to intermittent leave.
• Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) posts have also been popular this year.
• "Simply being in existence for 10 years and to continue just helping people 10 years out, through something that I enjoyed doing -- and that's just writing and connecting with people through my writing -- was an awesome thing for me. And, it was inspiring to me and just an exciting milestone as I hit that ten year mark."

Sustaining the Successful Production of the Blog

• There are “four pillars” to sustaining success:
• Passion for the topic is imperative to sustaining a successful blog - or any other medium. For blogging specifically, you must love to write as well. 
• Perseverance is another key trait to maintaining success.We live in a culture or instant gratification, which does not cater to persevering through difficult times -- but no one is going to become a trusted voice overnight. It takes time and perseverance to reach that goal.
• Servant leadership is another key aspect. If the end goal is not to help others, it will be incredibly difficult to sustain success. 
• Practicality is the final key trait. Each and every post must be a practical solution that strives to help others solve relevant problems. 
• Specifically for blogging, social media is an incredibly important tool for growing your audience. 

Impending Changes in 2021

• The FFCRA is an interesting topic moving forward.
  • WIll it be extended into 2021?
  • The pandemic is unlikely to be over by January 1st, and employees will likely still need leave to care for themselves or family members who test positive.
• The issue of childcare will be another topic that we may see some future legislature on. 
  • Employers and employees are often grappling with this issue.
  • The pandemic and remote learning has created even more buzz around this issue and a solution is needed.
  • The FFCRA may “light a fire” under congress to create permanent federal legislation in regard to childcare.
• Some kind of paid federal leave legislation is also a possibility. 
  • This might create change at the state and local level to cease the “patchwork” legislation that has been created.

Littler-Mendelson & Public Speaking

• Mr. Nowak is currently a shareholder with Littler-Mendelson.
• Based in the Chicago office, he generally counsels and litigates on behalf of employers in all areas of employment law, but with a main focus on FMLA and ADA issues. 
• Littler allows him to call upon experts around the globe in specific areas of employment law to help him best serve his clients. 
• He often speaks on FMLA and ADA issues, connecting with people via small seminars or conferences.
• He is involved with the National Employment Law Institute (NELI), one of the leading programs/resources for HR Professionals.
• Mr. Nowak is also involved with the Disability Management & Employer Coalition (DMEC), where he presents at their events, usually concerning leave of absence. 

Jeff Nowak Backstory

• B.A. in Political Science from the University of Indiana Bloomington
• J.D., Juris Doctor from the Indiana University School of Law - Bloomington
• Former Attorney at McDermott, Will & Emery
• Former Partner at Franczek Radelet, a Chicago based labor and employment practice group
• Serves as a Faculty Member at the National Employment Law Institute in Chicago
• Currently a Shareholder at Littler-Mendelson, and author of the FMLA Insights blog.

Contact

• Jeff Nowak’s email: JNowak@littler.com
• FMLA Insights 
• Jeff Nowak on LinkedIn