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Can anyone that knows the legal aspect of FMLA chime in on these questions?
1. If you are late to work for a hour(example) can your employer charge you with a half day's vaction? I was told by a freind that they could only charge 1/8 of a day not 1/2 of a day in this example. When I asked the HR department about this there response was " The goverment dicates the about of time/part of the workday that you take off of work due to FMLA, but it dose not dicate how much time the company can take away from the employee vacation time. Would the HR department be correct in this statement?
2. If my doctor has signed the papers on FMLA regrading my anxiety due to stress with symptoms such a rapid heartbeat, sweating, nauseated etc... can my company decide if I have these syptoms and be able to let me go home or not on FMLA? There is not a doctor or nurse on the company grounds. When asked what conditions would I have to have to be allowed to leave the plant on FMLA the HR response was "That I would have to seek medical attention that day by a doctor". No where in my FMLA documents that I turned in does my doctor state that this is a condition that has to be met. Did the company that I work for break the law?
3 I know that the company wants to get rid of me for me excescing my FMLA rights . I have it on my wife since she is bedridden, and sometimes I have to take care of her, and also on myself due to all the stress that the company has given me over the year (this is documated by my doctor). At what point does it become such harassment that a lawsuit can be filed?
I'm not really sure about the legal aspects, but I think it goes without saying that if you take an hour off, you should take 1 hour of vacation or sick time, not 4. You really shouldn't need to take fmla to take an hour or even a half day off of work. I think it is meant for long term illnesses, baby care, surgeries, etc. I think you should definitely ask your state labor dept. for specific laws.
It's the doctor that determines your FMLA needs. HR cannot override what the doctor says on the form. I don't think you have to go to the doctor every day that you take off for intermittent FMLA. But check the laws to be sure.
You should go the the federal FMLA laws and read them. Google FMLA intermittent leave. There are lots of descriptions/details on the web about what the law means and what you can/cannot do.
Also read the form that your doctor signed and was delivered to your company. Read your company documents on the matter.
Content of the certification¬ - Information on the certification may include: contact information for the health care provider; the date the serious health condition began and how long it will last; appropriate medical facts about the condition; for leave for the employee’s own serious health condition, information showing that the employee cannot perform the essential functions of the job; for leave to care for a family member, a statement of the care needed; for intermittent leave, information showing the medical necessity for intermittent or reduced schedule leave and either the dates of any planned leave or the estimated frequency and duration of expected incapacity due to the condition
RECERTIFICATION
In general, the employer may request the employee to provide a recertification no more often than every 30 days and only in connection with an absence by the employee. If a certification indicates that the minimum duration of the serious health condition is more than 30 days, the employer must generally wait until that minimum duration expires before requesting recertification. However, in all cases, including cases where the condition is of an indefinite duration, the employer may request a recertification for absences every six months. The employer may request a recertification in less than 30 days only if:
the employee requests an extension of leave,
the circumstances described by the previous certification have changed significantly, or
the employer receives information that causes it to doubt the employee’s stated reason for the absence or the continuing validity of the existing medical certification.
In general, the employer may ask for the same information in a recertification as that permitted in the original medical certification. However, an employer may provide the health care provider with a record of the employee’s absences and ask if the serious health condition and need for leave is consistent with the leave pattern. The employee is responsible for paying for the cost of a recertification. The employer cannot require a second or third opinion for a recertification. In most circumstances, the employer must allow the employee at least 15 calendar days to provide the recertification after the employer’s request.
Last edited by sware2cod; 01-17-2014 at 08:35 PM..
I'll start off by saying that intermittent FMLA-protected leave is the biggest pile of abused horse**** ever, and employers absolutely hate it due to the rampant abuse.
Ok. If they have a written policy that a partial day off is considered a half day - take 4 hours, since that is what you'll be dinged for. Perfectly legal both sides.
Your employer can request that you have medical verification for every absence you cite as FMLA protected. This is done to hound you into quitting one of two things:
1. Abusing the FMLA system
2. The job
Perfectly legal. If the medical issue you're citing is serious enough to need 480 hours of protected leave time every year for you to take at random, it should require a visit to your doctor for treatment every time it presents itself.
It's the doctor that determines your FMLA needs. HR cannot override what the doctor says on the form. You don't have to go to the doctor every day that you take off for FMLA.
Yes, you do. You have to be released back to work. If you're taking one day at a time random leave, each occurrence will need to be certified.
The government's way of say thanks for having an orgasm and creating another future taxpayer to be enslaved by the same government that created the FMLA.
The employer must keep track of "real time" used, so if you use an hour of FMLA leave, you lose an hour of FMLA leave. What they do with regular sick leave is their business, but FMLA leave must be accurately kept track of and cannot be rounded to the nearest hour, half day, or whatever.
They cannot make you go to the doctor for what you are describing.
They cannot make you go to the doctor for what you are describing.
Yes they can.
Quote:
the employer receives information that causes it to doubt the employee’s stated reason for the absence or the continuing validity of the existing medical certification.
Yes, you do. You have to be released back to work. If you're taking one day at a time random leave, each occurrence will need to be certified.
Simply not true. Employers can only ask for a recert (make you go to a doctor) every 30 days (and there better be something to make them think your condition is changing), if you ask for an extension and a few other times that don't have anything to do with taking an intermittent day of.
Simply not true. Employers can only ask for a recert (make you go to a doctor) every 30 days (and there better be something to make them think your condition is changing), if you ask for an extension and a few other times that don't have anything to do with taking an intermittent day of.
I'll pass on your HR paywall link and use the actual DOL language from post #3, which I quoted in my post earlier.
1. I can make you go under 30 days if the condition has been certified as indefinite, with reason.
2. I can make you go EVERY 30 days without reason if the condition has been certified as indefinite.
FMLA is a dirty ***** to deal with, and I've had a few that tested every stretch of the imagination.
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