Answers to tricky HR questions: Back-to-back FMLA absences
June 2, 2009 by Jim GiulianoPosted in: Answers to tricky HR questions, Employment law, FMLA, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Leave
Our team of experts fields real-life everyday questions from HR managers and gives practical answers that can be applied by any HR pro in the same situation. Today’s question: Do we have to do anything special when someone takes back-to-back leaves under the Family and Medical Leave Act?
Question
What happens when employees take FMLA leave for one serious medical condition, and then develop another illness while they’re out?
Answer
Their FMLA leave can simply be extended (with proper documentation, of course), says employment attorney Lawrence Peikes. The common situation comes up when an employee plans to be out for a few weeks for a surgical procedure and then needs another few weeks to recover from complications that develop; all count toward the 12-week allotment.
The key fact to explain to employees: They don’t get a new 12-week entitlement each time a new serious health condition pops up — whether the conditions are back-to-back or separate.
Tags: Family and Medical Leave Act, FMLA
March 15th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
I have a question, what protection does an employee have with intermittent LOA (FMLA) The ee has a very ill parent and she is on Intermittant FMLA – works and takes off up to 5 sick days to care for her mother. The ee also has changed her schedule to work earlier and leave early to complete the 8 hour work day. The manager knows this as she signed off on the paper work nut scheduled a meeting from the time that the ee isnt working and was not scheduled to be at the office. when the question arized that i the manager could make the meeting earlier the manager replied no, and that the FMLA was intermittent and that if the manager could be here why couldnt the ee? I am baffled. I work for a company that makes it own rules and I have been here for 7 years to long, the VP of HR is no help either. what protects this ee on FMLA when The manager schedules a meeting when the ee has already worked her 8 hours and is on FMLA?