Profession Courtesy Question

LindaS

How would you handle the following situation....

At my husband's employer their HR department is staffed by one person. They are FMLA eligible but appear to have some issues with the administration.

For example, a friend of my husband's has what would be considered a "serious health condition" under the FMLA (migraines)and when he requested the FMLA paperwork he was told by the HR person that completing the forms did not mean that he would not be required to bring in a doctor's slip each time he was absent due to a migraine. When he informed the HR person that he thought completing the paperwork (as long as the need for leave was medically verified) would mean that he would NOT have to bring the doctor's slip in each time he was told that was not the case. The company does NOT require others to bring in a doctor's slip for each absence BTW.

Now this person is coming to me looking for guidance. I can provide the information I have but he is obviously very frustrated and is considering quitting because he is tired of all the "flack" he gets whenever he misses work.

Now I am somewhat friendly with the HR person at this company and would like to have some guidance on whether or not I should contact her and assist or should I just leave things alone and let the chips fall where they may?

Thanks for the help.

lnelson

You are being put in a tough situation. I would inform the ee that your companies policy may differ with their ER so that you would not be able to assist him. Have the ee review his companies policies regarding absences and he should consult with the HR person again to clarify the requirements and to continue to file for the FMLA benefit.

Other than that stay out of it.

pork1

I concur! Other than having the ee go back to his employee handbook and read the policy based on law; you should attempt to stay out of another companies' business. If his HR calls and ask for your advice then I would junp in with a lunch and discussion of your two policy and procedures.

PORK

LarryC

From what you are saying, "doctor's slip" would be considered medical certification for purposes of FMLA. Therefore the company must allow the employee 15 days to provide these "doctor's slips". Tell the "HR person" to just ask for recertification every 30 days.

marc

The Company's policy could also be considered interfering with the EEs FMLA rights. Check out the regs related to Recertification at 825.308 and you will find that you cannot ask for Dr's certification that frequently.

There are a couple of exceptions that involve a change in the circumstances, but for a chronic condition like migraines, those are probably infrequent.

The act basically allows you to request recertification no more frequently than every 30 days, and that is in connection with an event calling for leave.

So if the EE had a migraine once a week, the ER could not recertify until 30 days had gone by with the next migraine.

Refer your friend to 825.308 under the regs for the exact wording.

mbeam

Another option would be to have your friend talk to his doctor about this - am sure the last thing they want is to fill out more FMLA paperwork for a condition that has been recognized as meeting the criteria for periodic rather than each time he suffers from one.

He can then return to his HR person and explain that the doctor's office was wondering why he needs to receive certification since the regulations (and this is time to point out which one) clearly states that this is not needed.

atrimble

If this migraine sufferer had already been placed in some form of probationary status regarding attendance and the request for a doctor's note was to verify that each absence was supervised by a physician or otherwise medically necessary, would FMLA regs override any disciplinary measures already in place when FMLA was requested/approved? I'm aware that you don't want to start discipline on an employee that is already protected by FMLA, but does it work in reverse?

marc

Yes, once FMLA is in the picture, it rules. There are even precedents that held the ER responsible if determined they "should have known" about the FML qualifying event.

Thank you for that one, judicial system.

In any event, disciplining an EE under the protection of FML is a no-no and can carry severe fines and penalties.

HRinFL

I just spoke to a manager about bringing an ee back to work because they did not recognize that the absences that the ee was dicharged for qualified for FMLA. One of the arguments that the manager stated was that the ee did not miss more than three days. However, the ee did miss three days, came in on the fourth, complained that he was in pain doing what he was assigned, asked for alternative duty (which unless it is a work related injury we do not aprove) and was sent home. Was out for four days after that before being able to return to work. They told the ee could not return before he brought in a doctor's note, yet when the ee did not call everyday (and they admit they did not clearly instruct him to), they wanted to let him go for no call/no shows. When he brought the note in, they said too little too late. We not only did not give him proper notice of his FMLA rights by not giving him the certification forms, we basically interfered with those rights as well. What a great day!

"Whenever I start to feel blue, I start breathing again!"

AJ SPHR

Back to your original question - I would stay out of it because you've only heard one side of the story and don't really know what the facts are. If I am asked for advice outside of work on HR issues, I may give the person the legal facts but I always direct that person back to his/her supervisor or HR person. I don't ever offer to fight their battles for them. I know you want to fix the situation, but it may not be fixable.

I also understand you want all HR professionals to care as much as you do and are dismayed when you hear of situations in which it sounds like the HR person is not acting professionally or knowledgeably. But I think too easily good intentions can create big problems if you try to insert yourself into the situation.