Employee refuses to return Paperwork

Heather

I have an employee who was out of work for tttwo weeks. He requested to be paid
for the time missed with remaining sick and vacation leave ( I have a doctor's note) He has however, refused to return FMLA Paperwork to me and returned to work without my knowledge yesterday...I found out he returned at the end of the business day. He says he does not wnat to request FMLA Leave and therefore does not have to use it- I have explained that he doesn't have to request it.... I don't know what else to do! Can I make him leave work until I get the completed documents?

Down_the_Middle

If you've sufficiently explained to him that he qualifies for FMLA, has a suitable return-to-work statement, can perform the essential functions of the job, etc...... I would offer him a final opportunity to provide you with the necessary paperwork, with the understanding that you will require him to be charged with an FMLA absence. I would then send him all of the necessary paperwork (just as you would have up front) and impose FMLA. You are permitted to retroactively designate his FMLA status if you didn't know about the absence until he returned to work, or you were waiting to confirm that his leave was qualified. It's not clear to me how much advance information the employer had about this 2 week absence. If it turns out that everyone knew he was out on an FMLA eligible absence and nothing was done about it, then I think you chalk it up to experience and leave the FMLA issue alone. His supervisor may need some FMLA education to avoid this happening in the future. Normally, FMLA does not apply if neither the employee nor the employer designates the leave in advance.

memiller

Our policy requires a return to work release from a doctor for anyone who is out more than 3 days. If they come in without it, we send them home...regardless of FMLA or not.

Theresa Gegen TX

IF the employee does not certify as FMLA leave because he does not return the paperwork, he can be noted as being absent without leave and can be disciplined for his absense (up to and including termination). (This assumes that your company policy states that FMLA leave will run concurrently with all other leaves -- sick leave, etc).

If you let the employee know that if he does not turn in the FMLA paperwork, his absence will count against him, he will probably get it in.

Good Luck!!

Lori Perdue

Hi, All... We have a troublesome, mediocre employee that knows how to 'work the system' and stay JUST INSIDE of termination policies. She does indeed have some health concerns, and several months ago, I presented & went over FMLA paperwork, instructing her on her responsibility to be certain the Dr returned the completed form to me within the allotted period of time. Yesterday we reviewed with her the (so far... 30 days) number of occasional days that she takes off of work, relating to this serious health concern. (Basically, I wanted to keep the 'advisement' paper trail going...) It occurred to us suddenly that her Dr never returned the FMLA form. When we asked her, she said that it slipped her mind & she never took it to him. Now, I know I'm at fault for not having immediate awareness of this failure, but as many of you can sympathize, the number of hats we wear & projects we're involved in exceed 50 hours / week, and priorities and 'fire-fighting' bring other more urgent issues to the forefront. It simply slipped MY mind that her paperwork was never returned. So now, I have a problematic employee that I would LOVE to find valid reason to terminate. Can I do it now, based on poor attendance of 30 + missed days, that have never been Dr-designated as PROTECTED?? Or does that open too huge of a can of worms... And this woman is one of those always mentioning her lawyer...I think she even may sued McD's because the coffee was HOT! (Caution: Coffee will be hot.) On one hand, it is very clearly stated that the return of the Dr paperwork is absolutely the responsibility of the employee... on the other hand, how can we 'undesignate' this already taken time? Or can I just fire her & be done with it???