Timing and Benefits issue for FMLA

turbo

I have an employee who will meet the 12 month FLMA criteria on Oct.7th her baby is due in December.

She has run into medical issues and has been in working a few days and then off a few days for the past 2 weeks, she works upstairs, there in no bathroom upstairs and she has to go up and down all day. She cannot work from home - due the nature of her job, nor can she work on the first floor also due to the nature and area she works in.

For this and medical reasons her doctor has now put her on bed rest. She has used up her vacation and sick leave.

We have not policy in place. However she has been guaranteed her position - verbally- by her director when she returns from having the baby.

Question. Since she doesn't qualify for FLMA for 5 more weeks, do we have to keep her benefits the same while she is out? or just until she hits her 12-months served? If she is at home not working and not getting paid...does she have the chance to even qualify for FMLA in October? Can her time be accrued - while being at home and not here?

We provide company paid medical benefits and vacation and sick leave for all employees who are here past their first 90 days. We have 105 employees.

cthr

Does your company have STD? If so, she would be eligible for that if the Dr is saying she needs to be out. How would you treat someone who broke thier arm or leg or had some other disability and did not yet qualify for FMLA? How have you handled in the past? Does TX have a state FMLA or pregnancy leave law that is more generous than FMLA?

Under the PDA, you would have to treat her the same as you would any other employee with a "disability".

turbo

I am new to this company. I have asked those same questions. They haven't intheir 31-year history ever had someone out with a disability ..I am told... that wasn't on worker's compensation. When they are on worker's comp. they are extened their healthcare benefits, but do not accrue any vacation or sick leave.

Doesn't FMLA require she accrue vacation and sick leave during her 12 weeks on FMLA? Texas doesn't extend anything extra beyond the Federal.

Don D

FMLA doesn't require that benefits such as sick and personal leave be continued in any special way. The law does say we cannot penalize them in any manner differently than others who might be out, but still accruing. If your policy were that anyone out for any reason for a period of time exceeding X-weeks will not continue to accumulate or accrue sick/vacation leave during that time, then it would apply as well to those out on FMLA. If your policy is silent in that regard, then you could not apply such a penalty only to those out on FMLA. If your policy doesn't penalize everybody, then it doesn't penalize ANYbody.