Dr. W sold his office to Dr. G, and Dr. W provided mentoring in all areas of practice ownership.
After 1 year, a pregnant employee needed extra time off due to bedrest (per her physician).
Dr. W always gave 6 or 8 weeks max of maternity leave, and recommended Dr. G fire the employee, since they are in an At-Will state.
Thankfully, Dr. G had updated the practice’s old policy manual, which added a recently-passed state Pregnancy Disability Accommodation law. This avoided a wrongful termination and retaliation claim, and an out of court settlement.
Why?
This one is another cautionary tale as more practices change hands, and it’s also a reminder for all parties about areas of expertise. Having the seller doctor stay on for mentoring has all sorts of advantages, in terms of patient care, a smooth transition for the team, and helpful training for the new dentist.
This is another case of “you don’t know what you don’t know.” Thankfully, the new doctor understood the importance of having an up-to-date policy manual. The refreshed manual led to this new policy that provided disability protections. In the case above, this employee needed the extra time off due to this protected condition, and due to her physician’s assessment of her care.
Here are some states with similar recently-passed pregnancy disability protections, and the number of employees where the rule applies:
- Kansas, 2024, 4+ employees
- Vermont, 2024, all employee levels
- Virginia, 2020, 5+ employees
- Oregon, 2019, 6+ employees
- Maine, 2019, all employee levels
- Connecticut, 2017, all employee levels
It’s critical that every practice has a mechanism for staying up to date with changing labor laws. The past five years have seen a quadrupling of new and updated state and federal labor laws. This is why you can’t let a handbook collect dust on the shelf.
This is a very difficult area to do yourself. You have to be notified of these new laws, research the text of the bill which can be dozens or hundreds of pages long, and then write your own policy based on the applicability of the law. For this reason, we recommend working with a dental specific HR company that does this automatically, taking into account your state and your number of employees.
Consider our HR Director Package for easily staying current and up-to-date.