FAQ Friday Category FMLA

We have an employee with an approved intermittent leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for medical appointments and physical therapy. She has now had a surgery and has gone out on continuous leave. We are struggling internally as her medical paperwork doesn’t give us a diagnosis or surgery type. We have conflicting opinions internally on whether this can be approved. Should we require she informs the company about the type of surgery or diagnosis to approve this leave?

Only specifically speaking about FMLA, and not disability ꟷ the FMLA does not require that a diagnosis be provided. A serious health condition is determined by the regimen of treatment that a claimant is undergoing. The FMLA defines a serious…

My company allows two weeks of leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) prior to the birth of a child when an employee is is pregnant, but we recently had an employee challenge this when we exhausted her FMLA benefits after her childbirth at 10 weeks. Who is correct?

Although your organization’s heart might be in the right place to grant leave prior to the birth of one’s child, this does not always constitute an FMLA-qualified leave. The FMLA defines incapacity due to pregnancy as a serious health condition…

We are thinking of changing our counting method under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) from rolling forward to rolling backwards in order to avoid employee stacking. What types of issues do we need to consider?

Changing FMLA counting methods can be challenging and requires keen attention to detail, but may well be worth the effort for your organization. Although a rolling backwards calendar can be the most complex to administer without the assistance of software,…

Our company allows for flexible schedules. We often see employees fail to apply for Family and Medical Leave Act protections because they can flex their schedule to visit a doctor for their chronic condition(s). Do you have any advice to help us educate employees on the benefits of the FMLA and why they should apply for it?

It is great that your company can allow for flexibility for your employees as this can be crucial to supporting work-life balance. This flexibility can also be helpful for those with chronic conditions, or for caregivers, as it may limit…

We have an employee on FMLA leave who is more than three weeks late in paying his share of the group health plan premium. Can we terminate his health insurance benefits for nonpayment of a premium while he is on leave, or would that violate the FMLA?

Absent an established employer policy providing a longer grace period, if this employee is on FMLA leave, you cannot terminate his health insurance benefits unless the premium payment is more than 30 days late, and you give him at least…

We have an employee who is going through the process to become a foster parent. She does not yet have custody of the child but is requesting FMLA leave to attend counseling sessions in order to complete the placement. Is this a qualifying reason for FMLA leave or must the employee wait until she has actual custody of the child before taking leave?

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows eligible employees to take leave for foster care placement and to bond with the newly placed child within one year of placement. To be eligible, the employee must have worked for your…

We’ve had an employee on intermittent FMLA leave for almost three months. She provided us with a medical certification substantiating her need for occasional intermittent leave over a six-month period. At first her absences were occasional. Now they occur much more frequently — almost always on Monday or Friday and recently on the day before a company holiday. This pattern does not seem consistent with her medical certification. Is there anything we can do?

Given the situation, you should ask the employee for a recertification. An employer generally may ask an employee to provide a recertification no more often than every 30 days and only in connection with the employee’s absence. However, if a…

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Seth Turner, Chief Strategy Officer
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