fmla?

mmurnahan

If a person has an accident and sprains their ankle and can not work for a week and then has to take period time off to go to the doc, is this a serious health condition?

Don D

If the company is subject to FMLA and the ee has met the time-worked and year-on-board provisions and he is injured and his doctor provides a medical certification stating he cannot work for a period in excess of three days due to a personal medical condition, it is FMLA.

Down_the_Middle

mmurnahan:
Seems to me the bigger question is the validity of the "serious health condition"..... If the individual is indeed "incapacitated", then FMLA is warranted. If, on the other hand, you find from the MD's cert that the person should avoid prolonged standing, does not have crutches, etc......., I'd find it hard to determine that this is a slam-dunk FMLA absence. Accommodating the current job or an alternate position might be suitable for all parties. The MD cert will be your guide, but I'd be cautious about an automatic approval. Good luck w/your analysis.

Don D

My reasoning is this: It is going to take you much longer than a week to bow-up and contest and challenge this and it will cost you unnecessarily in your own personal time, not to mention the unreasonableness of sending him for a second opinion, if that is under consideration. The fact is that when somebody twists an ankle and wants to be off, his doctor is going to put that restriction on the paperwork, no two ways about it, and a second doctor, if you can arrange an appointment in less than a week, is likely to say let the man stay home for the rest of the week. We can wring our hands over it all day long and at the end of the day we will have sweaty hands. If we take the unwise course of sending him for a second opinion, we are going to pay for that and run the risk of being accused of harassment because he is going to say that aggravated his ankle even more. In cases like this, I just suck it up and grant the leave because it is too unproductive and cost ineffective to challenge it and go off in all sorts of directions trying to deny the FMLA. On the other hand, if you deny it and he comes to work anyway, first, he is pissed off; secondly, he is going to aggravate it and then you will have a comp claim. Doesn't take me long to complete my analysis of this whole thing.

Down_the_Middle

mmurnahan:
FMLA is already a complex nightmare and I personally prefer to try and manage the situation vs. feeling that I'm being managed/manipulated by it. While a sprained ankle will not plummet an organization into chaos, it's really only the tip of the FMLA iceberg. It sends a loud msg to employees that almost every application gets approved as a convenience to the employer. While I would not likely pursue a 2nd opinion for an ankle sprain, I would most certainly be comfortable that the MD's recommendation makes sense. I would pursue clarification to better understand the seriousness of the injury. I have HR colleagues who prefer to let the physician manage their FMLA program and I think this is a fatal mistake. A physician's understanding of FMLA is likely limited to what the patient tells him/her. My 2-cents.........

System

Did the ee sprain his/her ankle at work? If so, it is also a WC issue in addition to FMLA. I agree with Don on the FMLA issue.

LindaS

I agree with Don that if the medical certification qualifies it for FMLA, it should be granted.

We had the same situation as many of you experience regarding dr.'s notes taking people off work so several employers in our area got together and had a meeting with the head of our local ER. We explained our frustration regarding their removing EEs from work and they explained WHY they sometimes grant people time off if they don't necessarily need it. Eventually we came to a compromise...

The drs. agreed that they would not remove an EE from work unless it was ABSOLUTELY necessary and would rather provide work restrictions for the EEs. We, the employers, then have the opportunity to determine whether or not work is available within the restrictions.

Let me tell you that I have had more than one unhappy employee return to work after seeing the ER and being provided with work restrictions instead of a work release.

Don D

"I would most certainly be comfortable that the MD's recommendation makes sense. I would pursue clarification to better understand the seriousness of the injury."


mmurnahan: Just be sure you understand that one cannot legally contact the employee's physician to discuss medical issues, whether for clarification or any other purpose. Speaking of signals to the employees, you would send a much clearer and louder signal if you protest a signed medical certification like this one and your protestations went absoultely nowhere, which you can count on. You have an employee with a sprained ankle. His doctor has evaluated his condition, including probably x-rays, and an ace bandage. The doctor has no doubt given him instructions to alternate ice and heat and keep the leg elevated and stay off of it for several days, up to a week, it sounds like. The doctor has further advised and has put in the FMLA certification that the ee is to remain off work for a specified period of time and the ee is no doubt to see him in a week if swelling is still there. Now, assuming this is factual, for you to "pursue clarification to better understand the seriousness of the injury", leaves only one thing for you to do....You contact the doctor's office and tell them you question the diagnosis and want him to rethink it or go over it with you, the personnel manager. If you go that route, please let us know how it all comes out. I have questioned more FMLA situations than I have fingers and toes, but as they say....Pick your battles.