Effective August 1, Louisiana employers with 20 or more employees must allow employees to take time off for medically necessary genetic testing or cancer screening each year.  The key features of this new statute are:

• Employees are entitled to one day off for this purpose each year.
• They need not be paid for the time off, but they may choose to use paid leave for this time.  It is unclear whether employers may require an employee to use paid time off for this leave.  Employers should not try to dock or deduct from exempt workers’ pay for this type of time off. 
• The testing must be medically necessary to diagnose, cure, or prevent a condition and not for investigational or cosmetic purposes.
• Employees should give at least 15 days’ notice of the need for this leave and make a reasonable effort to schedule it in a way that does not cause undue disruption to the employer’s operations.
• Employers may require employees to provide documentation confirming the performance of the testing or screening but may not request or ask about the results.
• This type of leave will be listed on a new workplace poster to be issued by the Louisiana Workforce Commission.

If you have questions about this new statute or other leave matters, contact Tommy McGoey or Kindall James for assistance.

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