no time remaining notice

Irie

What type of notice are we required to give to an employee when they run out of FMLA time? I have given this person a printout of the time they have used so they will be able to keep track of what's going on. Once she is out of FMLA time I want to apply the attendance policy to her absences. Thanks.

NaeNae55

Is there a specific notice? I am not aware of any if there is.

We start with asking the employee when we should expect them back. That is on the FMLA paperwork. Then each pay period we send them a pay stub (with or without pay) telling them how many hours they have used and how many are left. Towards the end we send them a letter reminding them when we are expecting them back, and that they will need a physician's release to return to work. If they were not able to come back when their time ran out, we would remind them of our leave policy and include a copy with the letter.

In our case, our policies allow for an extended leave of absence, but it would really depend on the circumstances.

Finally, I would like to remind you that the ADAAA may allow them to have more time after their FMLA runs out.

Good luck!

Nae

Irie

Thanks for the reply. This employee has intermittent leave for her child's health conditions (2). In the past month the employee has worked a total of five full days with the FMLA absences as either days off, arriving late, or leaving early. Needless to say the absences put quite a burden on the other production employees in the department.

We would like to apply our point-based attendance policy to the absences when she runs out of time and find a replacement for her. I believe she is "using" the system; I get no cooperation from her physician when I ask for recertification and whether the frequency of absences are in line with the diagnoses. Absences are always on Mondays and Fridays, before and after holidays.

NaeNae55

We had an employee like that once. No fun.

If she is using the system and very savvy, she will start reporting for work once her time runs out. However, you may find (like we did) that when she sees you are serious about enforcing your policies that she decides to move on. In the meantime, just make sure you have communicated the fact that her FMLA protection will run out after X hours and that then she will be subject to the attendance policy.

Good luck!

Nae

Sharon McKnight SPHR

Irie,

We have an audio conference about FMLA tomorrow that includes sample forms such as a letter to send to employees at the conclusion of their leave.

It's not too late to sign up for it so if you'd like to find out more about it just click on the link below.

[URL="http://http://www.hrhero.com/audio/simplifyFMLA/?UPAC"]http://www.hrhero.com/audio/simplifyFMLA/?UPAC[/URL]

Sharon