documentation--can we ask for it?

mushroomHR

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 02-09-05 AT 07:04AM (CST)[/font][br][br]Employee has no FML time remaining. He will start getting it back later this year. Employee has been off work on disability and is scheduled to return to work on 2/14. Employee is requesting a reduced work schedule due to his condition. I will give him the proper paperwork to request an ADA accommodation. My quesiton is, since this employee has no FML time remaining and we work on a point system for our attendance policy, can we require that he bring in documentation for future doctor visits until he earns back his FML time? I know you can't ask for documentation while someone is on intermittent FML but what about absences for ADA?

Edit: Here's my clarification. Say the employee has been granted his request for a modified work schedule: three days a week, Tues., Wed. and Thurs. The employee has a doctor appointment on Wednesday and needs to take off that day. Our attendance policy states that an employee must request the day in advance and then bring proof of the doctor appointment in order to avoid getting points. (On approved intermittent FML you cannot ask for proof that this person in fact did have a doctor's appointment.) Could we ask for proof of the doctor's appointment if this person is approved for ADA and a reduced work schedule?

Geno

Mushroom,

Help me out a little, maybe I'm misunderstanding you statement, what do you mean when you say that "you cannot ask for documentation while someone is on intermittent FML"?

Geno

HRinFL

What does your attendance policy state? Do you excuse absences where ees provide a valid Dr.'s note? Have you required other ees to provide a Dr.'s note whenever they have an appointment? How drastic is the reduction of hours? Maybe a little more information would help clarify and elicit more helpful responses.

Don D

The ADA does not require that the employer excuse absences. If, however, the employee advises you of a condition that leads you to assume he is a 'qualified individual with a disability', you may want to grant a brief a short period of absence during which you sort it all out and make a decision.

'Total absence from work' has been suggested as a reasonable accommodation for a very brief period of time (like an additional few days after FMLA). But, remember, to have ADA coverage, the employee must be (a) a qualified individual and (b) who has a disability. If he cannot work at all and cannot report to work under any circumstance, he is arguably NOT a qualified individual.

Since today is 2/8 and you have a report that says the individual can report to work on 2/14, I would think that would be a reasonable accommodation IF IN FACT the employee has a defined disability.

Don D

If your standard policy is that you require people to bring proof of medical visits, you do not have to discontinue that practice for those on FMLA. The act will not allow you to require it of them if they are singled out.

Don't forget, the act also prohibits a point system or attendance policy kicking in and penalizing a person for any FMLA absence, so your point of them getting a point without proof is not going to happen in their case. We awarded a hundred bucks to three employees at our 'Holiday Awards Event', who had missed 12 weeks on FMLA.

For Geno: It is also true of intermittent that the employer cannot require additional proof or recertification of those on intermittent beyond that provided initially with the leave application; unless one of three circumstances exists.