FMLA - Use of PTO or Sick time

Dgross

At our company, our policy requires employees to use accrued PTO or sick hours simualtaneously with FMLA. However, under the sick policy, employees are only allowed to claim sick time if it is their own personal illness.

So.....
We have an employee who requested FMLA to take care of a dying parent. The leave was granted. Now she has returned saying she needs to request FMLA for her own personal illness from the stress of taking care of her father so that she can claim her sick time instead of using her PTO hours.

I have requested the physician's certification to verify the "condition". But, knowing our physicians (who are also employed by us!!!), I know they will write some wonderful reason that she needs to be off for her own illness.

Any suggestions..... or do we just accept it and move on!

LindaS

If the physician certifies the illness accordingly, I would say that you have no choice but to accept it and move on.

Sorry!

atrimble

Agree - if the doc certifies her condition, grant continued FMLA protection.

Am I just reading something in to your post, or is there another issue here? Are you asking whether the initial leave should have been Sick or PTO? Our sick leave policy states the same thing yours does - it's for the employee's illness only. But we've got a caveat: when the leave is FMLA-protected, employees can also use sick leave. So if one of our employees was in this same situtation, they -could- have burned sick leave to care for the father.

Or is the post more about usage of FMLA? I don't believe you have to start the FMLA clock all over for a newly qualifying condition. FMLA is job protection over a twelve month period, whether it's for a bunch of short but serious absences for multple family members, or one long, drawn out absence just for the employee.

Dgross

This is just about whether she's allowed to claim PTO hours or her sick time during the FMLA leave. She has both available but she's maxed the accrual of sick time and I am sure she would rather use it before the PTO so she can use PTO later.