ASKING IF THE EMPLOYEE IS RETURNING

dad

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 04-28-04 AT 01:15PM (CST)[/font][br][br]FIRST, CAN AN EMPLOYER ASK THE EMPLOYEE 6 MONTHS IN ADVANCE OF BIRTH OF A CHILD WILL THEY BE RETURNING TO WORK AFTER THE BIRTH? SECOND DOES THE EMPLOYEE HAVE TO GIVE A DEFINITE ANSWER THIS EARLY.
Sorry about the all caps. This is my first time.I noticed this aggrevates some.

jrzgrl

We don't even bother asking so far in advance. What I find is that expectant mothers may have intentions of coming back, but once they see the baby they can't leave the baby and change their mind (I don't believe there are any laws against that x:D ). Our policy states that women who are out on maternity leave must give us notice as to whether they are coming back or not no later than one month before the end of their leave.

dad

My employer wants to ask the ee to give him a definite answer by next week. I think the employee would just say "yes i'm coming back" no matter what her intentions were. Why not?

deniseE

does your employer ask this of people on FMLA for other reasons???

Logically, I understand wanting an idea...but I don't know that it's an OK question....besides the answer could be yes....but many things could happen...what if the baby is not 100% healthy...what if she suffers complications???

Just too many unknowns...as with any medical procedure.

Rockie

You can't just single out individuals who are on FMLA leave for the birth of a child. If you ask these type questions, you need to ask of everyone that is on an extended leave.

Most people, if asked, are going to say "yes", whether they have made up their mind or not.