Another FMLA Question or Two
MarcS
27 Posts
Hello everyone. Please be pateint with me as I do not post often, nor am I as an owner, 100% up on this area (FMLA). I admit I am not an HR expert.
Anyway, I have a fewquestions. We have a PTO system here whereby employees accrue paid time off anually for the entire year, on an annualized basis. The total bank of hours can be used anyway they want, 100% for vacation, or 100% for sick time or a combo of both (we hope for this option. Anyway, we have two employees here that due to their tenure, have an additional week of PTO hours. These two people took vacations and sick time this year. One of them had a minor car accident that now requires many many doctor visits, so she is over her PTO. The other has a pre-existing condition (LUPUS) that requires doctor visits, but all of the sudden she has gone over too. Here are my questions....
1) Other than granting additional time off for these doctor appointments for both of them, without pay, anything else we can do as punishment for excessive absenteeism?? anyone think we can suspend them a day or so without pay and be ok under FMLA?
2) I have seen other threads that talk about putting people on FMLA with forms, etc. is there some sort of letter you have to send for this, etc? you as employer can elect to place someone on this (FMLA) without their consent? where can i find some more details on this?
Anyway, I have a fewquestions. We have a PTO system here whereby employees accrue paid time off anually for the entire year, on an annualized basis. The total bank of hours can be used anyway they want, 100% for vacation, or 100% for sick time or a combo of both (we hope for this option. Anyway, we have two employees here that due to their tenure, have an additional week of PTO hours. These two people took vacations and sick time this year. One of them had a minor car accident that now requires many many doctor visits, so she is over her PTO. The other has a pre-existing condition (LUPUS) that requires doctor visits, but all of the sudden she has gone over too. Here are my questions....
1) Other than granting additional time off for these doctor appointments for both of them, without pay, anything else we can do as punishment for excessive absenteeism?? anyone think we can suspend them a day or so without pay and be ok under FMLA?
2) I have seen other threads that talk about putting people on FMLA with forms, etc. is there some sort of letter you have to send for this, etc? you as employer can elect to place someone on this (FMLA) without their consent? where can i find some more details on this?
Comments
2. Yes there are forms. They can be found on the DOL website. Go to
[url]http://www.dol.gov./libraryforms/FormsByTitle.asp[/url]
and scroll down to the F's for the FMLA forms.
By the way, JuJu has given you an excellent point to consider before you jump into assuming the FMLA applies to you.
i think fmla does apply to us, see my response above.
thanks for the forms link, i appreciate it.
And yes, you can request they schedule these appointments at a more convenient time, but that does not mean they must, just if they can. Often the medical providers tell them the time and there is little any of us can do about that.
I guess my company has a completely different outlook regarding potentially life-threatening illnesses such as Systemic Lupus Erythematosis and debilitating accidents. Rather than punishing employees with these problems and who take FML to recover or get treatment, our founder has been known to go ee's homes, buy materials and build ramps, lay asphalt, visit at the hosp, etc. We have about 200 ee's and he knows us all, but he's no push-over. Once FML and STD are used up, it's LTD and/or termination. It's why, although the pay is not within market range here, I stay.
What is STD and LTD?
LTD is Long term disability. Some companies do not offer it - ours has it as an elected employee benefit.
For a good overview of the FMLA, there's a free Special Report in the Subscribers Area of this website. If you haven't been there before, click on [url]http://www.hrhero.com/img/v3-menu-login.gif[/url] at the top of this page. After you're logged in, scroll down to the yellow box listing all the Special Reports. There's login help here:
[url]http://www.hrhero.com/help/subscribers.shtml#help[/url]
Good luck!
James Sokolowski
HRhero.com
1) these two individuals are over their PTO and we have a month and a half left in the year, but they continue to pile up doctor visits.
2) neither requested the time as FML, they just ask for the time off. should i send them notice that the time over the PTO is considered FML, and can it be categorized retroactively?
3)if they haven't requested the time as FML then do we have to count it as such?
FMLA is unpaid leave, it does not matter if they have used all of their time, if they are eligible for FMLA you have to allow the time unpaid. A company can require an employee to use of their PTO first for FMLA, as long as your company policy states that.
At this point, you need to start the FMLA clock running, send the paperwork and see what you get back. FMLA can in some cases be designated retroactively, however, because you and most likely your employees are unclear as to what FMLA actually is, I would suggest you contact legal counsel before making that decision.
I have read some court cases that have allowed retroactive treatment, and some that have not. Perhaps some of the lawyers that frequent the forum, can chime in to clarify this aspect for you.