COBRA-FMLA Involuntary or Voluntary
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An EE exhausted her 12 weeks of FML and was hoping to be able to return but was not released by her doctor and there was no definite time when that would happen. We terminated her employment and classified it as "involuntary" because we were unable to continue holding the job position open. Our TPA that administers our COBRA said it is voluntary because it was a medical reason. I have researched this with no success. Have any of you experienced this situation? Thank you.
Comments
I have a very similar situation coming up next week. As I understand it, we are allowed to treat a "failure to return from leave" as a voluntary termination for ARRA purposes.
If that is not the case, someone here will correct us... There are a lot of very sharp pros here!
This is a good topic. Let's hear from some others. Does anyone have anything on this from the DOL or other authoritative source?
I would treat this situation as an involuntary term. The employee can't come back since the doctor has not released her. If she was able to come back to work and has decided to stay home for a longer period, then it would be involuntary. Just my 2 cents.
I am awaiting further direction from counsel. And those of you who have known me for these past few years also know how much I hate awaiting further direction from counsel.