Employee Changed Status

Rockie

Another very confusing wrinkle in the FMLA and, I am sure, a legal technicality. We have a full time employee who had to go out early on FMLA due to a maternity situation. Her intent was not to return to a full time status after her baby was born, but to revert to what we call PRN status (which is as needed). This position is not eligible for benefits. She has gone out early on FMLA before her status changed. Is she still eligible for 12 weeks FMLA even though her status was to change to a PRN status the first of the year?

She does not intend to come back to work in a full time status and we had already hired her replacement as she had agreed to go to PRN status effective the first of the year.

Are we also obligated to pay her medical for 12 weeks even though she does not intend to come back in a full time status?

Please help ASAP!

Thanks.

Gar

Full time or part time status means nothing. The only requirements are that she worked for your employer 12 months at the time of the the leave request, that, at the time of the leave request, she worked 1,250 hours during that 12 month period and worked at a site where there are 50 or more employees within 75 miles of said work site. Moreover, since she was a benefitted employee at the time of the leave request you have no alternative but to continue her benefits while she's on leave. Naturally, she has to pay any premium payments she is normally expected to pay. She can be dropped from your medical plan if the payment is more than 30 days late. Hope this helps.

Down_the_Middle

We deal with this frequently due to such a high female population of nurses. We typically pay the employee up until the date she was to go to PRN status and then continue her FMLA w/o pay. Haven't had any issues arise that I know of.