In the 477 pages of proposed changes to the FMLA, there’s one line that could have the greatest effect. The first meaningful revision to the Family and Medical Leave Act consists of 477 pages of bureaucratic prose that obscures the one page that probably means the most of HR managers and their employers.
In fact, it really boils down to just 11 words: Employers can contact doctors directly to clarify questions about medical leave.
Under the original provisions of FMLA, if you had a question about a doctor’s note or other leave documentation, you had to take a twisted road to get an answer.
First, you had to ask another doctor to get clarification from the employee’s doctor. Then you had to hope that when the two doctors conferred – however long that took – nothing got lost in the translation.
Of course, if there was any confusion, you had to ask the outside doctor to contact the employee’s doctor again and … well, you get the picture. It’s reasonable to believe that in a lot of instances, the answer might come long after the employee has returned from FMLA leave.
It’s a good deal, but …
Under the new proposals, however, you can call the employee’s doctor directly to clear up confusion and get your answers.
It’s a good deal, but you’ll want to be careful about what you ask because some questions still can be interpreted as an invasion of medical privacy. And you’ll meet the terrible, swift sword of the law if you’re found guilty of that.
To avoid that problem, be sure to
— write down and keep a record of your question – so you’ll have proof of what was asked
— stick to the subject – and stay away from questions that stray into other subjects about the employee’s health, and
— if you have a conversation with the doctor, ask him or her to document the answer in a letter to you.
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