Off 4 days but no certification

Irie

We had an employee who missed four days of work: Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday (was not scheduled to work Saturday or Sunday but I know those are considered as part of the four days). He brought in a doctor's excuse for the four days.

I gave him an FMLA certification with instructions to return the cert to me within 15 days. The due date was today and I have no certification.

If I deny FMLA back to the days the employee missed work and apply our attendance poilicy, this employee will be terminated for attendance points.

Does anyone see potential problems with this? Thanks.

LindaS

Has he provided a reason for the failure to bring in the paperwork? If not, ask him. I would provide him one last written notification that failure to get the paperwork completed will result in the preliminary FMLA designation being revoked and your attendance policy being applied. Also inform him that this would mean the termination of his employment. I would give him an additional 5 working days to get the paperwork.

Irie

Thanks Linda. I gave him a reminder a week ago that the paperwork was due today. How many times must one remind an employee that their certification is due?

LindaS

Did he respond to your reminder? If he has chosen NOT to respond to your FMLA certification request, I would go ahead with the termination at this point. You have met your obligations under FMLA and if this EE has chosen to ignore your warnings, follow through. Just make sure everything is documented.

davids

You say the employee brought in a doctor's note. Does the note provide you enough information to make a decision on FMLA? If yes, I would not get caught up in "process" of requiring a specific form.

I am curious why FMLA certified leave would be excused, but sick leave confirmed by a doctor, but just not falling under FMLA, would not be excused?

Irie

If an employee does not prearrange an absence but calls off and brings documentation substantiating the absence then attendance points are reduced. With FMLA the employee would receive no attendance points. There was not enough information on the doctor's slip to designate FMLA.

LindaS

David -

To respond to your question regarding excused absences with a doctor's slip it appears that you have the same thought many employees have...that having a doctor's note automatically excuses you from work. That is incorrect and the majority of companies do not excuse an employee simply because they bring in a doctor's note for their absence. Outside of FMLA there is no regulation requiring this and there are many reasons NOT to excuse an EE who brings in a doctor's note outside of FMLA.

The plain fact of the situation is that it is way too easy for an EE to walk into a doctor's office and get a slip for a day or two off work when there is nothing really wrong with them. In addition, with the amount of time an EE can take off work under the FMLA, more and more employers are NOT excusing people for simple illnesses and injuries.

Does that answer the question?

davids

Thank you for your reply. No, I was not assuming that a doctor's note automatically excuses an absence. And, after 20+ years in HR, I understand the importance of adhering to policy. However, I also understand the danger of adhering to policy (what Steven Covey calls "malicious compliance"). If an employee presents a doctor's note that says "employee presented himself today for an examination" (I have actually seen those exact words on a note), I would not excuse the absence. However, if the note from an emergency room said "employee treated for lacerations and broken bones", I might be more lenient. My point is that we need to treat each situation on a case-by-case basis, looking at all the facts, including the employee's history and the validity of the absence.