Seven Family And Medical Leave Act Do’s And Don’ts

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 grants an eligible employee the right to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave from employment. This is due to caretaking reasons, either for themselves or a family member with a health condition (suffering from a serious illness or needing medical treatment). For employers and managers, the FMLA offers many pitfalls.

As recent lawsuits make clear, employers can easily run afoul of the FMLA by failing to adhere to its many requirements or by applying the FMLA inconsistently. Here are seven do’s and don’ts to help employers stay compliant with the FMLA:

1. Do create and consistently follow an FMLA policy.

FMLA is substantial and complicated. It may also interact with state law, so employers and their human resources department must be aware of this when forming their specific FMLA policy.

It must address coverage of their employment benefits program, what employees should do to receive FMLA coverage, and what the employer will do when applying the FMLA (which includes record keeping).

The FMLA offers some flexibility in its application to help prevent administrative issues.

For example, regarding paid time off, employers will need to create an FMLA policy that complies not only with federal and applicable state laws but also with existing employer policy.

The Department of Labor (DOL) offers employers guidance and legal advice on the application of the FMLA.

For employers, the first question is this: Are we a “covered” employer? The answer is yes if the employer is a:

Private-sector employer, with 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year, including a joint employer or successor in interest to a covered employer;
Public agency, including a local, state, or federal government agency, regardless of the number of employees it employs; or
Public or private elementary or secondary school, regardless of the number of employees it employs.

Regarding who is covered, an employee is covered under the FMLA if he or she:

Has worked for the employer for at least 12 months;
Has at least 1,250 hours of service for the employer during the 12-month period immediately preceding the leave; and
Works at a location where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles.

Once a covered employer has created a policy, it must be applied consistently so that concerns like caregiving issues, domestic violence issues, and the like are avoided.

Failure to do so can contribute to lawsuits.

For example, in Hudson v. Tyson Fresh Meats Inc., an employee argued that his employer did not consistently enforce its rule that “All management Team Members are expected to personally call their direct supervisor to report an unplanned absence or to report that they will be late.”

The employee said that he had sent the said employee notice via text instead and that the company had previously accepted such notice.

The court noted that “Originally, Tyson claimed that it fired Hudson for ‘fail[ing] to notify the company he was going to be absent.’”

This small inconsistency, however, did not prove that Tyson used Hudson’s failure to follow policy as a pretext to fire him for seeking FMLA protection. Even so, it was enough to garner the court’s attention.

Inconsistent application of company policy regarding the FMLA may expose an employer to charges of discrimination as well.

2. Do provide notice of the FMLA to employees.

Employers are required to furnish a copy of employee rights under the FMLA.

This is typically done via posting information on a company web page that employees access, in the employer handbook, and in posters in a commonly accessed area, such as a break room.

In addition, employers should let employees know if they may be eligible for FMLA protection and not play “gotcha” in denying FMLA coverage for failure to follow company policy.

The FMLA protects employees who act in good faith. The employer should also inform employees of its FMLA policies.

3. Do make sure managers are trained.

Managers may fail to comply with the FMLA in two ways.

One is to take action (or fail to do so) while unaware of what company policy is. The other is to allow their emotions to govern how they act toward employees who claim or may be eligible for FMLA protection, which may result in problems like employer discrimination.

In both cases, training on the company policy and its application is the best way to avoid mistakes that may prove costly.

On another note, the FMLA does not consider whether an employee is “good” or “bad,” including previous attendance issues.

For managers, there may be a temptation to help good employees with navigating the maze of FMLA compliance and to use the rules as a means of dismissing other employees.

Another way that managers can create trouble for the employer is by failing to notify HR when the FMLA may be implicated.

The FMLA also has confidentiality provisions that, if violated, can lead to a lawsuit.

For example, in Holtrey v. Collier County Board of County Commissioners, a “management-level employee allegedly disclosed Plaintiff’s condition to his coworkers and subordinates at a staff meeting….Roughly eight…coworkers and subordinates learned of Plaintiff’s condition….These coworkers and subordinate employees have approached Plaintiff to [inquire] about his condition and frequently make fun of him….”

The fun included “obscene gestures about [his] condition.” Unsurprisingly, the court denied the company’s motion to dismiss.

Managers do not have to know the medical reason for an absence under the FMLA, let alone spread the word about it.

Instead, they need only be aware of the possibility that the FMLA may apply to a situation and act according to company policy when that possibility arises.

For example, if an employee is missing work because of a sick child, the manager may consider whether the FMLA is implicated and notify HR.

4. Don’t fail to confirm eligibility.

Failure to train managers on recognizing when the FMLA may apply can place employers in legal trouble.

The employer’s duty to employees may even extend as far as letting an employee know that the FMLA may apply.

In Lichtenstein v. University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, for example, a court determined that the comment “Sick mom!” in a log regarding an employee’s absence was sufficient to implicate a possible application of the FMLA.

The lesson for employers is to train managers and supervisors about the FMLA and to apply that knowledge when receiving communications from eligible employees about their absences.

Employers need to know when the FMLA may apply and to inform employees that they may be eligible for FMLA coverage.

Similarly, employers should not interfere with an employee’s FMLA claim.

When an employee makes an FMLA claim, the employer should not act or fail to act in ways that a court may later construe as attempts to stop or hinder the employee from making a compensation claim.

This holds true even if the claim is later denied.

5. Do keep records.

Given that record-keeping is part of an employer’s essential functions, the DOL provides some basic guidance on what records an employer must keep in relation to FMLA claims.

Specifically, covered employers who employ FMLA-eligible employees must maintain records that include:

Basic payroll and identifying employee data, including:

Name, address of record, and occupation,
Rate or basis of pay and terms of compensation,
Daily and weekly hours worked each pay period,
Additions to and deductions from wages, and
Total compensation paid.

Other crucial information includes:

Dates FMLA leave is taken, which must be designated in the records as FMLA leave
Hours of FMLA leave used if leave is taken in increments of less than a day
Copies of FMLA notices provided by an employee to the employer and by the employer to its employees concerning the FMLA. These include any written request for leave from the employee as well as any required notice provided to the employee concerning FMLA leave.
Any documents, including electronic records, describing employee benefits or employer policies and practices regarding the taking of paid or unpaid leave
Premium payments for employee benefits
Records of any dispute between the employer and an employee regarding the designation of leave as FMLA leave, such as emails or other written statements regarding a disagreement on the designation of the employee’s FMLA leave request

These records should be kept for at least three years.

6. Don’t retaliate.

Many FMLA lawsuits address whether an employer retaliated against an employee for taking or seeking medical leave.

If an employer disciplines, fires, demotes, or reduces an employee’s pay or benefits after the employee seeks or receives medical leave, the employer should be prepared to defend its reasons for doing so.

In the case of Walker v. Verizon Pennsylvania LLC, the court ruled that the employee had suffered retaliation after receiving medical leave.

The court came to this conclusion after the employee was laid off despite having a better performance record and high level of skill than other employees who were not selected for dismissal.

7. Don’t overlook intermittent or reduced schedule leave.

Under the FMLA, covered employees may be eligible for a reduced daily work schedule. If, for example, an employee needs extra time in the morning to attend to extreme circumstances (a sick family member with a serious medical condition) but can work after that, an employer must consider altering the employee’s schedule to accommodate the employee.

While this may sound similar to accommodation provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the laws cover different situations.

The FMLA covers serious medical conditions of the employee or someone in the employee’s family (as part of crucial family responsibilities), while the ADA covers disabilities.

The FMLA does allow employers some leeway with reduced or intermittent schedules, for example, in cases of having a foster child or having a child for adoption.

Special Rules and Common Issues Employers Face

Below are special rules and some areas where employers face common issues pertinent to the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Some of these concerns are related to employee FMLA-protected leave.

Sick Leaves

In terms of federal requirements, there is no mandate for sick leave provision from employers.

However, all employers must pay attention to some state and local laws that require it.

These are common in Northeast states and in Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Vermont, and Rhode Island.

Military Family Leave

Employers must not forget that there are specific protections accorded to military families and their needs. This was added in 2008.

USERRA-Covered Service

According to the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), employers are required to reemploy an individual under the provisions stipulated in the act. This includes being given credit for hours of service requirement if the person would have been employed.

Unpaid Leaves

All employers must note that their eligible employees are to be provided a maximum of 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year.

This is the acceptable time stipulated by law and may be availed for the following reasons:

For having a medical leave
For childbirth/having a newborn child
For attending to foster care or adoption
For caregiving issues and concerns

Rules for Airline Flight Crew Employees

For an airline employee, the FMLA hours of service requirement are identified through a thorough assessment of hours rendered over a single 12-month period.

If, during the previous 12-month period, a flight crew employee has worked or been compensated for not less than 504 hours or not less than 60% of the total monthly guarantee, the required hours are considered rendered.

Authorized Health Care Provider

The FMLA also helps define who a health care provider is.

For securing medical certifications (should an employer require a certification from employees), certificates may be gained not only from doctors but also from dentists, chiropractors, clinical psychologists, and optometrists.

Conclusion

The FMLA’s numerous and complicated provisions create many potential problems for employers.

As such, employers should develop a written FMLA policy, train managers and supervisors on that policy, and provide notice to employees of their rights under the FMLA as well as the company’s FMLA policy. Employers should stay abreast of developments in FMLA law and make sure that HR managers are updated on the myriad details of family medical leave.

Related Articles