FMLA-Making Up Time

Shelly

Can the employer still count FMLA hours when an employee has made-up time or worked overtime in the same week?

Example: EE misses 8 hours on Monday is charged 8 hours of PTO time and 8 hours of FMLA time. Then ee works 8 hours each Tues-Fri and one hour Overtime each day Tues-Fri. In reality, the ee has worked 36 hours for the week, so can we still charge 8 hours of FMLA time? In this example, do we conclude that the employee has not made up the time missed since they were paid overtime for the hours in addition to their normal work schedule?

If we coded 9 hours regular hours (instead of 8 hours Reg & 1 hour OT) each day Tues - Fri, then the employee would only be docked 4 hours of PTO time and 4 hours FMLA time.

Which is the right approach? Or can we do both based on individual department guidelines? I work for a very large company and we process approximately 7,000 designations a year. x:'(


Thanks!

Don D

In my opinion, if the employee is on approved intermittent FMLA, that time should be tracked and treated independently of other factors like overtime and without regard to 'making it up'. I don't think you'll find that the intention of FMLA included any sort of makeup provisions. If I understand your question, I would track the time missed due to FMLA and deduct it from the 12 week running clock as it occurs regardless of the total number of hours worked otherwise during the week. And, if overtime is due at the end of the workweek it should not be based on the FMLA hours paid from a leave bank since those hours were not WORKED. The important thing to do here is to track your FMLA clock to ensure the individual has access to the required 12 weeks and no more. FMLA is a job protection statute and was not written to control or suggest wage payments during absences.