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FMLA

FMLA and late certification: Can we fire for missed deadline?

12/01/2007

Q. As the law requires, my company provides FMLA leave to employees, provided they submit medical certification forms completed by their health care providers, within 15 days. A late submission is grounds for discharge under the company’s employee absence policy. Health care providers being what they are, we frequently receive forms after the deadline. I have a problem employee out on FMLA leave again, who has not submitted a medical certification form within the 15-day deadline. What options are available to me as the employer? Will the employee be protected by the FMLA if I choose to discharge her for not providing the certification form in a timely manner? …

Leave by any other name is still FMLA leave

12/01/2007

Q. Can we require our employees to specifically request “Family and Medical Leave” or “FMLA leave” in order to trigger our duty to provide them certification forms? …

Go ahead and discipline, even when considering FMLA leave

12/01/2007

Employees who ask for FMLA leave often act as if they are immune from any sort of discipline. But that’s simply not the case. Even if an employee has applied for or is actually on FMLA leave, you can and should punish rule breaking. Just make sure you aren’t treating an employee who takes FMLA leave more harshly than any other employee. Equitable discipline is the rule …

Employer’s mistake doesn’t extend FMLA leave

12/01/2007

It’s not always easy to calculate exactly how much FMLA leave an employee has coming. Rest assured, though: If you make a mistake, you can fix it. Just be sure to fix it as soon as you discover the error so your mistake doesn’t harm the employee …

Checklist: 9 Steps to Sniffing Out Suspicious FMLA Requests

11/07/2007
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Make sure firing decision was independent of FMLA status

11/01/2007

What does your organization do when a manager or supervisor recommends a subordinate should be fired? If you simply approve the recommendation without seeking more information, you may be asking for a lawsuit. Here’s why: If the manager’s reasons are illegal—maybe an attempt to punish an employee for asking for or taking FMLA leave—then courts will conclude that your organization shared the manager’s motives …

You can force an eligible employee to take FMLA leave

11/01/2007

FMLA provides up to 12 weeks’ unpaid leave to eligible employees for their own or a relative’s serious health condition. Employers can run FMLA leave concurrent with other paid leave if they choose, which has the effect of running out the clock. But what if the employee has a serious health condition and doesn’t want to use up her FMLA time just yet? Can you force her to take FMLA leave? You can, as the following case shows …

Don’t blow off legal papers unless you’re prepared to personally pay back wages

11/01/2007

Does your organization have a process in place for handling legal paperwork? If not, you risk a default judgment that could cost big bucks. If your organization is served with a lawsuit and fails to respond, a court may refuse to let it enter a late defense. And if the organization can’t participate, the court will accept as true everything the employee who is suing says in the complaint …

Make sure employees know FMLA policy on returning to work

11/01/2007

Employers can require employees who are off work for an FMLA-qualifying illness (their own serious health condition or that of a child, spouse or parent) to provide updates on their conditions. But watch out if you have a policy that calls for termination if the employee fails to report for work when his doctor said he would be ready to return—especially if more FMLA leave is still available. Make absolutely sure the employee knows about the rule …

How does FMLA leave overlap with paid vacation, sick and personal leave?

11/01/2007

Q. Our employee handbook provides that employees who take FMLA leave must first use any available paid-leave time, including vacation, sick time and personal time, as part of their FMLA leave. I have recently heard that there may be limitations on an employer’s ability to require an employee to substitute his paid-leave time for unpaid FMLA leave. Can you clarify this? …