EE 12 weeks almost up...
lnelson
670 Posts
Many of you know of my migraine ee who is on FMLA his 12 weeks will be up next week and I just received his 30 day doctor note stating no change in condition. I have not heard from this ee for over 4 weeks. Do not know if he is coming back or not. Should I do anything, send anything?
So far he has met all of the requirements outlined with exception of the Fitness for Duty form. Give me your thoughts please.
Lisa
So far he has met all of the requirements outlined with exception of the Fitness for Duty form. Give me your thoughts please.
Lisa
Comments
My next question is I just received a doctor note on June 3 with no change in condition but he is returning to work probably next week. What can I ask of him prior to returning? I know the fitness for duty but what else? Any accomodations? Does ADA become an issue?
Have him call you before his before "x" date if there is any problem or other information that would prevent him from return to perform all of the duties of his job so that you cna discuss what happnes next.
IIf he does not return as expected nor call you to let you know of any problem, he will be subject to disciplinary action which could include his discharge.
If you call him first, confirm conversation in letter. Original certified mail, return receipt; copy sent regular first class mail.
If you send letter without talking to him, do the same procedure -- Original certified, return receipt; copy regular first class mail.
Keep affidavit proof of mailings.
The disability could reflect a long term medical condition that could fall under ADA. That's why you want to talk to him if he CAN'T return to work as expected. But until you know more about his medical condition if he can't return, you really can't say ADA is or isn't applicable.
A disability under ADA can either be permanent or long term. Long term isn't defined but about a year is common. So, one of the questions to ask him is how long he expects to be under this medical situation. You may still have to inquire of the doctor even if the employee says a few more months. Under ADA, a reasonable accommodation could be further leave than what FMLA provides to allow for recovery and the ability of the employee to return to perform the essential duties of the job with or without further reasonable accommodation, although if there other accommodations -- assuming he qualifies as an ADA-disabled employee -- you could do those instead.
I sent him a letter on 6-7-04 certified and just received a call from him. He is now asking if we can extend the leave to the beginning of July. I have informed him that his FMLA is up on June 15 and after that no longer guaranteed a position and that we do not want to set a precedent by offering more leave.
I also said that should he be able to return on June 16th the fitness for duty form needs to be filled out by his physician in order to return to work.
IF he does come back on June 16th his supervisor wants to have a performance improvement type plan for him due to his prior attendance which were unrelated to his illness. He had been disciplined prior to FMLA on non-medical issues and was still unable to comply.
What do y'all think? :-?
My only problem I am seeing is the POSSIBILITY of ADA becoming an issue although from what I have observed and others in his dept. it is not a life altering case of migraines. It may be a continuous health problem. Is it a disability if occurs occasionally? Would that fall into ADA?
I agree with the disciplining upon return but just wanted back up on my thoughts.
Lisa