FMLA & Daycare

sag

How would you say the FMLA eligiblity rules apply to this situation: A young child has an childhood type illness (fever from teething, flu & ear infection) and the daycare facility requires the child to remain out of the school until the child is fever free for a 24 hour period. The child is seen by the doctor, given antibiotics but the fever comes and goes but is under control by the 3rd day. The 24 hour rule of the day school keeps the child out of school an additional day. The parent (employee) meeting the service requirements, requests FMLA indicating that the illness of the child met the 3 consecutive day rule and because the illness was such that prevented the child from going to school, it qualifies as a serious health condition. The employee also has made the claim that these illnesses which require the child to be off by the school rules are ongoing (teething) and should qualify her for intermittent leave for future. Thoughts on this?

Hatchetman

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 05-10-01 AT 02:00PM (CST)[/font][p]Let me understand...the employee's child has a "serious health condition" caused by fever which in turn is caused by flu and teething (in this case, what causes the fever isn't as important as the fever causing the "serious health condition"). Can the employee receive intermittent leave to care for the child without a doctor's statement each time simply on the basis that the school has declared that "teething" denies the child access?

It seems to me the issue is the fever or the flu, not the teething. If the teething causes fever that's a different matter. If the doctor is willing to certify that teething causes the child's fever which then presents a serious health condition to the child and requires treatment be administered by the parent under his general supervision or requires the parent to provide psychological comfort and support, then you could give intermittent leave without requiring a new doctor's staement each time the child had to stay home. You could ask for a doctor's "re-certification" no more often than every 30 days, if you wanted to.

But I would have to seriously question whether "teething" meets any of the conditions of "serious health condition" put forth by the US Department of Labor.

Nonetheless, if it does, the initial doctor's statement should include the fact that the child has a serious health condition (although, I don't believe that an actual diagnosis is required for the child's condition), an estimate of how long the condition will last, a statement that the parent is needed in the care or psychological comfort and support of the child and how much time the parent is needed to provide that care or support. That's where the doctor should indicate the uncontrollable situation in which he supervises treatment administered by the parent's immediate care and need to provide psychological comfort and support but not necessarily the doctor's immediate, active attention.

I simply wouldn't act on the mother's claim that because the school won't let the child in, that the child is seriously ill.