FMLA Certification: What Every Manager Needs to Know to Prevent Abuse
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This free report offers a comprehensive overview of what your managers should know — and do — to prevent employee FMLA abuse and to head off lawsuits that can result from mishandling the FMLA certification process.
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The FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) is designed to give employees the time they need to deal with serious health and family issues. Most employees have legitimate reasons for taking leave and play by the rules.
However, your managers will have to deal with some workers trying to game the system. When abusive employees find out about this wonderful thing called FMLA intermittent leave – which allows people to take FMLA leave in small chunks to deal with chronic health or family problems – their “health” problems begin and they appeared at the worst possible time. The result: This FMLA leave abuse decreases productivity, increases your costs, and gives your managers a massive scheduling headache.
Managers CAN take action to halt FMLA abuse. But they have to go about it the right way to avoid expensive FMLA lawsuits.
In this free training white paper, your managers will learn:
- The Number One mistake that will get you sued over FMLA intermittent leave abuse.
- The three rules you must know to legally deal with intermittent leave abuse.
- How to handle employees who abuse FMLA – and stay on the right side of the law.
The Number One mistake managers make with FMLA certification
The Number One mistake managers make when confronted with possibly abusive absences under intermittent FMLA leave is to react out of frustration and threaten to strike back. They might be tempted to issue progressive discipline, punitive documentation, or even terminate the abuser. Actions like these will cost you every time. Lawyers will say you interfered with employee FMLA leave rights – and that’s illegal, and a made-to-order lawsuit.
Get your managers the training they need today and avoid costly FMLA lawsuits
What you CAN do is get employees to re-certify their need for intermittent leave. The employer has the right to require employees to go back to the doctor for a fresh, up-to-date FMLA certification showing that they still need intermittent leave.
The three rules your managers need to legally deal with intermittent leave abuse
- First, your managers can seek recertification every 30 days if the original doctor’s certificate doesn’t specify how long the condition is expected to last. In some cases, they can ask more often.
- Second, they can’t use recertification as a punishment. They have to be consistent and never single out a given employee.
- Third, they can’t call the doctor if the employee is their direct report. Managers need to realize they can’t call the doctor, but HR can.
How FMLA certification works to curb intermittent leave abuse
- Employees will have to pay the doctor for the new certification. If you ask for it frequently, they may figure it costs too much to cheat.
- Most doctors are honest, they’re not going to play along with an employee who’s trying to scam the boss.
- And because people talk to each other, word will get around that you’re serious about checking on FMLA leave. That may halt some abuse before it starts.
Your managers can sometimes ask for recertification more often than every 30 days. If the circumstances of the employee’s condition change significantly or if you receive information that casts doubt on the stated reason the absences, you can ask for recertification. You’re not accusing the employee of anything. You’re not diagnosing them. You’re simply acting within your rights to get clarification from the doctor.
The positive outcomes from FMLA certification
FMLA certifications done right get employees back to work. Your managers won’t have to worry about crossing the line on FMLA, so you can treat them like all your other employees: Either they give you the effort you need or you can start to discipline them for performance issues.
Most importantly, your managers acted completely within the law, without giving a lawyer anything to hang an FMLA lawsuit on.
Here’s a recap of what your manager’s need to know about FMLA certification to curb FMLA abuse
- They can ask for recertification every 30 days.
- They can ask for recertification more often if they have information that the employee’s condition changed significantly, or if they have new information casting doubt on their need for FMLA leave. Vague suspicion isn’t enough – you need specific information.
- They can’t talk to the employee’s doctor directly, but HR can. And they can have HR send a written request to the doctor, asking for clarification.
- They can’t use recertification as a pretext for discipline or to single people out.
- And they can’t diagnose the employee.
Get your free training white paper on FMLA certification as part of a FREE trial to the Compliance & Management and Human Resources Rapid Learning Centers.
Sincerely,
Stephen Meyer
CEO/Director of Learning and Development, The Rapid Learning Institute
