Disclaimer The materials and information contained herein are

Disclaimer The materials and information contained herein are intended only to provide general information and in no way constitute legal advice. If you have specific questions or concerns, please consult legal counsel.

Family and Medical Leave Act

FMLA Basics – Who is eligible? • Employee who has worked 12 months in the last 7 years. • Employee worked 1250 hours within the last 12 months. • Employer has 50+ employees working within 75 mile radius.

FMLA Basics – When can FMLA be used? • Employee with a serious health condition. • Employee’s family member with serious health condition. • Employee/family member with chronic condition.

FMLA Basics – Types of Leave? • Continuous Leave. • Intermittent Leave. • Reduced Schedule Leave.

Who’s responsible for FMLA Leave? Employee – Should request leave for a qualifying condition/event triggering FMLA. Employer – The employer must recognize the leave requested is protected by FMLA and request a medical certification if appropriate.

The Leave Process Step 1 Employee must notify employer when need leave. NOTE: Employer’s responsibility to determine if leave request is covered under the FMLA, regardless of whether the employee formally asserts his/her FMLA rights. Step 2 & 3 – Employer notifies if leave is FMLA or requests Employee to provide a completed certification within 15 calendar days.

The Leave Process Step 4 Employer must notify employee whether leave has been designated as FMLA within 5 days. (con’t) Step 5 – Leave is FMLAprotected (There are employee responsibilities while out on FMLA leave). Step 6 – When you return to work, your employer must return you to the same or nearly identical job.

Must include: • contact information for the health care provider; • when the serious health condition began; Medical Certification • how long the condition is expected to last; • appropriate medical facts about the condition (which may include information on symptoms, hospitalization, doctors visits, and referrals for treatment); • whether employee is unable to work or family member is in need of care; and • whether leave is expected to be continuous or intermittent.

Medical Certification Step 1 Employer Notifies Employee Certification is required. Step 2 – Employee provides Completed Medical Certification (at employee’s cost) within 15 days. HR will handle! Step 3 – Employer MUST designate leave as FMLA or ……

Insufficient or Doubtful Certification ER advise • Certification missing information. EE Response • Provide missing or insufficient information – w/in 7 days. ER Response • EE on FMLA or • Need More/2 nd Opinion ER doubts Certification Independent Exam Results • ER obtains 2 nd Medical Opinion at ER cost. • 1 st and 2 nd Opinions Differ • ER and EE agree to 3 rd and binding opinion.

Handling Intermittent Leave Not to be used for voluntary treatments or procedures. Track as you do with other forms of leave but no more than 1 hour increments. Recertification useful to prevent abuse.

Recertify of Terminate Employment? ? • Suspicious circumstances. • Employer due diligence to ensure information is credible. • Independently verify claims. Handling Intermittent Leave - Employee misuse Seeger v. Cincinnati Bell Telephone Co. ; 681 F. 3 d 274 (6 th Cir. 2012). Herniated disc and yet out partying at Octoberfest. Sharif v. United Airlines; 841 F. 3 d 199 (4 th Cir. 2016) Sharif had vacation scheduled March 16 thru April 4 but could not get shift covered for March 30. Called in and requested FMLA leave for anxiety disorder that day.

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