The holiday season, which it seems is beginning right now, was always such a fun time at my last job. You could find a tasty treat in the staffroom everyday. If there were two things we had in common they would be cooking and eating — we all liked to do both. As proof of that, I came back from my maternity leave at well below my pre-pregnancy weight! Everyone was always very cheerful during the holiday season. One thing that kept us that way was our respect for one another and our differences.

While we enjoyed celebrating the holidays, work went on as usual. We did our jobs just like we did at any other time of the year. We didn't go crazy with gifts either. We had a grab bag at our holiday party with a spending limit of $10. And speaking of the holiday party, I don't think we had alcohol there. That certainly could be a starting point for things getting out of hand. Here are my Top 6 Rules for Celebrating the Holiday Season at Work.

The Family and Medical Leave Act, better known as FMLA, was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1993. FMLA gives employees the right to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12 month period to care for a newborn or newly adopted child or for a seriously ill parent, child or spouse without fear of losing their jobs. On November 17, 2008 the Wages and Hours Division of the U.S. Department of Labor published revisions to FMLA, the first since the law was enacted. These revisions will take effect in January of 2009. One major change to the law affects military families who either need time off to care for members of the military who have serious illnesses or injuries. They will be able to take up to 26 weeks during a 12 month period. Another change also affects military families who must step in to manage the affairs of a member of a reservist or National Guardsman with certain qualifying situations such as short-notice deployment and post-deployment activities, to name only two.

With one hand the government giveth and with the other it taketh away. The revisions to the FMLA change the way employees must notify their employers of their desire to take leave. When one had an unforeseen illness that necessitated leave, he or she had up to two days following an absence to inform his or her employer. With the revised law, an employee will be required to use his or her employer’s standard call-in procedures used for all unscheduled absences to inform an employer of the need to use FMLA. That means notification must happen in advance of an absence.

Another change to FMLA involves medical certification. In order to address privacy concerns, an employee's direct supervisor will be prohibited from contacting the employee's healthcare provider to obtain medical certification. A healthcare provider, human resource professional, leave administrator or a management official will be the only representatives of an employer who may contact an employee's healthcare provider.

More About FMLA

Every 10 years, as mandated by the Constitution of the United States, the population of the country is counted. Citizens are required by law to complete the ten minute questionnaire. The government uses the data collected to distribute Congressional seats to states and Federal funds to state, local and tribal governments. The next U.S. Census will take place in 2010 and the Census Bureau is starting to recruit part-time temporary employees for early census operations. Recruitment will go into full-swing next fall.

Beginning in the Spring of 2009 Census takers will go door-to-door to update address lists. Census questionnaires will be mailed to all U.S. households in February and March 2010 and are due back on Census Day, April 1. Then from April to July, Census takers will visit households that did not return Census questionnaires by mail.

Census takers must speak English. Bilingual employees are needed in various communities. A driver's license and the use of a vehicle is generally required, but the Census Bureau may authorize public transportation in some areas. If you want to apply for a job you can either call 1-866-861-2010 or contact your local Census Bureau Office. Visit the 2010 Census Jobs Web Site for more information.

Many women, and some men too, take a hiatus from their careers in order to spend more time at home with their children. For many the decision is a difficult one. Of course there's the financial impact to think about, but there are also emotional ramifications. Many people feel a loss of identity when they take time off from their careers.

My colleague Katherine Lewis, Guide to Working Moms at About.com, just published an interview with Sara Lee's CEO Brenda Barnes. Ms. Barnes was president of Pepsico North America when she quit her job to be a stay-at-home mom. After seven years she returned to corporate America. Ms. Barnes offers some great advice to other women facing the same dilemma she did — a great career but the desire to be at home with young children before the opportunity to do so was over. She made the most of her time away from her career which allowed her to pretty much pick up where she left off when she returned to it. Read Sara Lee CEO Brenda Barnes Discusses Career Breaks.

In a second interview with Ms. Barnes, Katherine Lewis discusses Sara Lee's paid internships program for women returning to the workforce. These "returnships" are aimed at stay-at-home moms with five to 10 years of experience in marketing, sales, human resources, law, finance, operations or information technology. If you are considering a return to the workforce, this is certainly worth reading. Even if you don't live near Sara Lee, you might consider proposing this type of program to another company.