Get tough on vague, incomplete FMLA forms
Here’s good news for employers trying to manage FMLA leave and prevent abuse: If an employee’s FMLA certification form is incomplete or vague, you don’t have to accept it … you can deny FMLA leave to that person.
Just make sure you give the employee at least seven calendar days to correct deficiencies on the certification form. The law also requires you to notify employees at the time you request certification of the potential consequences of failing to provide adequate certification.
Recent case: When Brian’s mother became sick, he applied for intermittent FMLA leave and submitted an FMLA certification form to his employer. But the form left several questions unanswered, including the length of time he would need to help his mother.
The company asked him to resubmit the form with clear answers. Brian turned in the same form, redated and with the statement “1-5 days weekly for medical treatments and personal needs/care.”
Other questions remained unanswered, so the employer rejected his FMLA request.
Brian sued, alleging interference with his right to take FMLA leave. The trial court dismissed the lawsuit. Brian appealed, but the court again sided with the company.
The reason: As long as employees are given the chance to fix problems on their forms, employers have the right to turn down FMLA leave requests when employees don’t provide the information necessary to evaluate the request. (Porter v. Donahoe, No. 10-1174, 2nd Cir., 2012)
Final tip: Give employees the official FMLA certification form from the Department of Labor (WH-380). That way, there’s no question about which info you can request and the worker must provide.
FMLA: What is ‘timely and complete’ certification?
Employers may require that an employee’s FMLA leave be supported by certification issued by a doctor. Employees must provide “timely, complete and sufficient” medical certification to the employer. What does that mean? According to the Department of Labor, it means:
- The employer must advise an employee whenever the employer finds a certification incomplete or insufficient and must state in writing what additional information is necessary.
- A certification is considered incomplete if one or more of the entries have not been completed. A certification is insufficient if the information provided is vague or ambiguous.
- The employer must give the employee at least seven calendar days to cure any such deficiency, unless that’s not possible.
- If the deficiencies specified by the employer are not cured in the resubmitted certification, the employer may deny the taking of FMLA leave.
- At the time the employer requests certification, the employer must also advise an employee of the anticipated consequences of an employee’s failure to provide adequate certification.
Note: Employees must provide the requested initial certification within 15 calendar days after the employer’s request, unless doing so isn’t practical or unless the employer gives the employee more than 15 days.
