How to Determine FMLA Abuse
The Family Medical Leave Act, or FMLA, is a law designed to give employees unpaid leave to deal with family emergencies or debilitating personal illnesses. Workers qualify for leave under the FMLA if they have worked no less than 1,250 hours over the preceding 12 months. If the worker meets the qualifications, she is entitled to take up to 12 weeks of leave under the FMLA. Since wrongfully terminating a worker who is in compliance with FMLA guidelines can have serious ramifications for your business, talk to an attorney if you suspect your employees are abusing their FMLA leave time.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Challenging
Instructions
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Verify the employee's reason for taking leave. Before approving the employee's request to take an absence under the FMLA, require the worker to provide a note from his doctor, adoption agency, or social worker to confirm that his request is legitimate.
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Ask for a second opinion. Attorney W. Melvin Haas III states that it is not uncommon for employees to ask a friend or family member in the medical profession to write a letter supporting their requests for FMLA leave time. If you have reason to suspect that the employee's documentation may not be accurate, ask him to provide a medical certification from a different doctor or social work professional.
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Watch for patterns in the employee's request for leave. Jay Schleifer of the "HR Daily Advisor" recommends monitoring your workers' leave requests and noting suspicious patterns, such as asking for FMLA leave only on Fridays and Mondays. "A Monday/Friday absence pattern is considered evidence to cast that doubt, and you can bring it to the certifying doctor's attention," he explains.
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Request recertification every month. Both the "HR Daily Advisor" and attorney Haas recommend that you ask your employees to submit a new doctor's note every 30 days to verify their health status or the condition of their family member.
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Contact a private investigator. If you are not satisfied with the documentation your employee provides you, or if you notice suspicious behavior, consider retaining a private investigator to look into what the worker is doing during her FMLA leave time.
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Comments
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The employee abuse of FMLA at our company is so bad that for starter's the government need's to mind it's own business.....Our company need's to look into the abuse of the FMLA program so it stops effecting the people that are there everyday.......Believe me, it effect's the moral of everybody on down!
