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Copyright 2026 J. J. Keller & Associate, Inc. For re-use options please contact copyright@jjkeller.com or call 800-558-5011.
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2026-07-20T05:00:00Z
NewsFamily and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)LeaveFamily and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)HR ManagementEnglishLeaveAssociate Benefits & CompensationMilitary LeaveChange NoticesChange NoticeHR GeneralistAssociate RelationsArizonaFocus AreaHuman Resources
Arizona military leave expanded
Effective date: September 12, 2026
This applies to: Employers with employees in Arizona and Arizona state employers.
Description of change: On June 4, 2026, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bill expanding the state’s military leave provisions. The measure:
- Broadens military leave protections for state and non-state employees by expanding eligibility for a leave of absence for training or active duty under competent military orders and striking references to specific military activities.
- Conforms leave-accounting procedures for state employees and public officers to reflect the expanded military leave protections.
- Strikes training and outlined military activities to conform to the expanded military leave protections, which allow for leave for active duty or training under competent orders.
View related state info: Military leave - Arizona
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2026-07-17T05:00:00Z
NewsIndustry NewsHR GeneralistFamily and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)Expert InsightsFamily and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)USAAssociate RelationsEnglishHR ManagementFocus AreaHuman Resources
Expert Insights: When to ask for an annual FMLA certification
Employers often deal with employees who take leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for medical conditions that span multiple years. As such, employers may ask for a new certification in each new leave year. Employers should, however, wait until an employee asks for leave for the first time in the new leave year before making such a request.
Employers won’t find this information in the FMLA law or regulations. Instead, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) explained this approach in a 2005 opinion letter.
The letter said that certification in a new 12-month leave year is similar to recalculating the 1,250 hours worked eligibility criterion. Employers don’t reassess an employee’s FMLA eligibility until the employee:
- Requests FMLA leave for a different reason in the same leave year, or
- Begins using leave in a new leave year.
In other words, when it comes to annual FMLA certifications, the WHD said that employers may restart the certification process with the first absence in a new leave year. This is true even if the employer asked for recertification in the prior leave year.
Pause in being proactive
Employers naturally want to be as proactive as possible in their FMLA administration. It might seem efficient for employers to start the FMLA ball rolling the moment a new leave year begins, particularly if they expect an employee to keep taking FMLA leave.
So, employers shouldn’t automatically ask for an annual FMLA certification just because a new leave year begins. They should wait until the employee puts them on notice of the need for leave for the first time in the new leave year.
Back around 2013, the WHD accused a company of automatically renewing medical certification requests from employees, even though the request didn’t involve an actual employee absence.
On the plus side, employers may, if they have reason to doubt an initial certification, ask for a second or third opinion on a new certification. They may also ask for recertifications during the 12-month leave year.
Key to remember: When asking for an annual FMLA certification, employers should wait until the employee first takes leave or puts them on notice of the need for leave.
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2026-07-17T05:00:00Z
NewsIndustry NewsFleet SafetyDrug and Alcohol Testing - DOTFocus AreaIn-Depth ArticleUSAEnglishTransportationDrug and Alcohol Clearinghouse - Motor Carrier
Don’t let missed Clearinghouse queries derail your carrier
Suppose a previous safety manager failed to query the CDL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse on a consistent basis. This predecessor left quite a train wreck for you to fix. You’re at a pivotal junction. Which direction do you go?
Consider the following best practices that may help put your motor carrier back on track.
Acknowledge the violation
FMCSA is checking for completed queries within the past three years during audits. In fact, failing to conduct a pre-employment query was the second most cited violation during audits in 2025, followed by failing to request annual queries at number three.
There are no provisions in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) for fixing missed Clearinghouse queries. But when you find something wrong with your recordkeeping, it’s important to address the situation.
However, finding the violation is only half the battle. You need to correct the issue and avoid future compliance gaps.
Come up with a plan
After discovering safety violations, a common practice is to generate a corrective action plan.
An effective corrective action plan identifies the root cause of the violation. For the missed queries, common reasons include:
- A misunderstanding of the requirements by responsible personnel;
- A disregard of the regulations by someone tasked with the requests; or
- Mismanagement of recordkeeping (lack of order or time, reminders, etc.).
After examining what led to this gap in compliance, document the measures your company is taking to ensure the problem doesn’t happen again. Examples include:
- Using a third-party administrator to request queries,
- Assigning the role to someone new,
- Training personnel who are responsible for queries,
- Setting up an alert to request queries for annual queries, and/or
- Creating a new-hire checklist that includes pre-employment queries.
Once your record is created, make sure the statements in it are true and accurate.
With a corrective action plan in place, attention can turn to the more immediate question: Which queries are missing, and what can be done about them?
How to show a good faith effort
Even after evaluating why something happened and how to prevent it in the future, how do you handle the here and now?
First, you need a list of queries that have been requested by your carrier in the previous three years. Your Clearinghouse account is your starting point. Every query your carrier has requested is available for you to see when you log into your account.
Compare your driver roster against requested queries. This can help identify drivers who may have fallen through the cracks. Note those missing:
- A pre-employment query. If the driver has had an annual query since hire, there doesn't seem to be a need to backtrack and run a full pre-employment query of the Clearinghouse. Anything on the driver's record should be caught by now. If the driver has never had a query run on them, it’s recommended that you run at least a limited query to get the annual query rotation started.
- Annual limited queries. If a driver has missed a recent annual limited query and more than a year has elapsed since that last query, you should run the annual limited query as soon as possible. If the driver missed an annual query two years ago, for example, but had one a year ago, you have the most recent information on the carrier.
Once you get the pre-employment and annual queries back on track, those missed queries from over three years ago will not be requested of you by DOT.
Key to remember: Missing Clearinghouse queries don’t have to be the end of the line for your DOT testing program. Get on the right track by acknowledging the compliance issue, documenting corrective actions, and strengthening your processes.
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2026-07-16T05:00:00Z
NewsIndustry NewsIndustry NewsBusiness planning - Motor CarrierFocus AreaFleet OperationsEnglishTransportationBusiness planning - Motor CarrierUSA
Cuts were made but still costs rise
The cost of operating a truck hit a record $2.34 per mile last year as rising expenses continued to outpace freight rates and squeeze carrier profitability, according to the latest analysis from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI).
The findings are part of ATRI’s 2026 “Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking” report, detailing both accelerating costs and low profitability in the trucking industry.
According to ATRI, the average cost to operate a truck in 2025, including fuel, was $2.336 per mile, which is the highest reported per-mile cost to date and 3.4 percent higher than the cost in 2024.
An effort to cut
Carriers across the nation reduced truck counts by 2.4 percent and left 10 percent of trucks unseated to help cut operating costs during and after the freight recession in 2022, according to the report. Efforts to reduce costs also came in the form of reduced non-driver staff levels (cut by 7.8 percent) and a reliance on older trucks with higher annual mileage.
Even with these attempts to relieve costs, carrier profits were still low, with ATRI reporting that operating margins in the truckload and refrigerated sectors remained below 1.0 percent, tank carriers were averaging 4.0 percent, and large fleets with 1,000+ trucks maintained flat margins year over year.
Rising costs despite the cuts
ATRI reported that costs rose in all major line-items, most notably:
- Tolls (up 13.2 percent)
- Repair and maintenance (up 8.6 percent)
- Driver benefits (up 6.6 percent)
- Tires (up 6.4 percent)
The report also notes that fuel and driver pay both rose at sub-inflationary rates, and that first quarter 2026 data followed most of the same 2025 cost trends.
Final thoughts
The ultimate takeaways are that fleets should continue to stay ahead of costs by exercising discipline and that using ATRI’s benchmarking report can help inform ongoing cost management strategies.
The full report can be found at https://truckingresearch.org/2026/07/analysis-of-the-operational-costs-of-trucking-2026-update/
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2026-07-16T05:00:00Z
NewsIndustry NewsHR GeneralistFamily and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)In-Depth ArticleFamily and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)HR ManagementEnglishUSAFocus AreaHuman Resources
When employers may (and may NOT) ask for an FMLA second opinion
Asking for someone’s opinion in most cases shows that their input is valued. But when it comes to leave laws, employers must play by the rules. Employers may ask for a second medical opinion under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in limited situations.
When an employee first notifies an employer of the need for FMLA leave, employers may require the employee to support the leave request with a medical certification. But what happens if employers have suspicions about a certification?
When second opinions are allowed
If employers have reason to doubt the validity of an initial medical certification, they may require the employee to obtain a second opinion. Employers may choose the health care provider, but must pay for the second opinion.
While waiting for the second (or third) medical opinion, employees have FMLA benefits and protections. In other words, employees have job protections during the 15 days they have to get a second opinion certification.
If the employer doesn’t act in good faith in the process, it’s bound by the initial certification; if the employee doesn’t act in good faith, they’re bound by the second opinion. If the initial certification and second opinion disagree, the employer may ask for a third opinion, which is binding.
Employers may also request a second opinion when a new leave year begins, and they ask for a new annual certification. The annual certification is treated like an initial certification.
When second opinions aren’t allowed
Employers may NOT request a second opinion in every FMLA situation. For example, they may not ask for one for:
- Recertifications;
- Leave related to a military qualifying exigency;
- Leave to care for a covered servicemember, except in limited circumstances; or
- Fitness-for-duty certifications.
For fitness-for-duty certifications, employers may require employees to provide the certification before returning to work.
ADA considerations after FMLA leave ends
Once an employee returns to work, the FMLA leave ends. At that point, assuming the leave was for the employee’s own condition, the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) likely applies if the employee needs a workplace accommodation. Unlike the FMLA, the ADA doesn’t use certification forms to support an accommodation need, and employers shouldn’t use FMLA certifications to collect medical information outside the FMLA process.
Under the ADA, employers may ask medical questions or require a medical exam only when the request is job-related and consistent with business necessity. This generally requires a reasonable belief, based on objective evidence, that the employee cannot perform essential job functions because of a medical condition or will pose a direct threat because of a medical condition.
Employers should avoid having blanket policies that require all employees returning from leave to undergo medical exams. Requests for exams should be individualized, handled on a case-by-case basis, and be based on the facts of the specific situation.
Key to remember: Employers may request a second medical opinion only when the FMLA allows it, such as when there is reason to doubt an initial medical certification. They may not request second opinions for all FMLA-related certifications.
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2026-07-16T05:00:00Z
NewsRecruiting and hiringChange NoticesChange NoticeMaineApplications/ApplicantsLabor Law PostersLabor Law PostersEnglishFocus AreaTalent Management & RecruitingHuman Resources
Maine employers using electronic surveillance must provide notice
This applies to: Maine employers using electronic surveillance
Description of change: Maine employers using electronic surveillance must inform prospective employees during the employment interview process that the employer uses electronic surveillance. Written notice must also be provided at least annually to all employees.
"Employer surveillance" is defined as the monitoring of an employee by an employer through the use of an electronic device or system, including but not limited to the use of a computer, telephone, wire or radio, or an electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system. It doesn’t include an employer's use of surveillance cameras for security or safety purposes or the use of global positioning system tracking or other safety devices on vehicles owned by the employer. An employer may not use audiovisual monitoring in an employee's residence or personal vehicle unless required by job duties.
An employer that violates the Employer Surveillance law is subject to a fine of at least $100 and not more than $500 for each violation.
View related state info: Employee notices - Maine
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Copyright 2026 J. J. Keller & Associate, Inc. For re-use options please contact copyright@jjkeller.com or call 800-558-5011.