First timer

Maggie A

This is my first experience with FMLA leave, so please bare with me. We have an employee who has been out on FMLA leave - suffering from depression. He is due back on Oct. 15th. Am I obligated to contact him between now and the 15th? And what if he doesn't call or return to work? Do I need to send him an official notice of speration from employment?
Thanks,
Maggie

marc

When you say due back on the 15th, is that the time the ee or his doctor projected he/she would be back or is that when the 12 weeks are up? We contact the ee a couple of weeks before their projected return time to determine if they are still on track to return. We want to make sure we are all set up to get them back on the work force, etc. If they decide not to return, then we have more action to take with respect to getting their job covered on a more permanent basis and you probably have some Cobra actions to take as well. I say contact them via phone or letter to determine their intent.

SDDCHR

The same question comes up as Marc asked...is the 15th the end of his 12 weeks or is it the time he was scheduled to go back to the doctor for clearance to come back to work? In either case, don't be to quick to term based upon him/her not coming back. Are there other issues that you now need to look at? I too would contact the employee about a week prior and ensure that they understand that they are scheduled to come back to work based upon the information that you received from the doctor.

jrzgrl

In our policy it states that an employee on maternity leave will notify us in writing one month before their return date that they intend to return. Any other kind of medical leave it states they are required to notify us two weeks before. I give them the full day, and if I don't hear from them, I will contact the supervisor to see if they have been contacted. If not, I start dialing the phone. This is the case whether the 12 weeks are up, or if it's just the end of the requested leave. If they still have more entitlement left, I get a request to extend leave in writing.

Rockie

Generally, we require our employees to stay in contact with the supervisor during the duration of their FMLA leave. If you have paperwork stating the employee is due back from FMLA on a certain date, then they should return unless the physician has authorized them to stay out longer. If they didn't show up, I would certainly give them a call and inform them that they were expected back and you were just checking to see why they didn't return. Technically, their FMLA ends when the physician states they are supposed to return, but as we all know, communication sometimes breaks down....so it's always a good idea to give a call before taking action.

If their FMLA is truly up, I would again give them a call, probably a week or so before their leave is up to make sure they understand they are running out of leave, or you can send them a letter to contact you. This gives the employee the benefit of the doubt and looks good for you as the employer if you happen to have an FMLA problem with this person after you terminate them.