Are you tired of asking?
Irie
482 Posts
Are any of you HR people who have employees on intermittent leave tired of asking the employee whey they either aren't coming in or why they are late/leaving early? I never seem to get enough information from the employee even though I tell them constantly that they must let me know the reason for their absence so I can count it as FMLA and not give them attendance points.
Do any of you have a secret you would be willing to share as to how you get this information without having to constantly ask for it? Thanks.
Do any of you have a secret you would be willing to share as to how you get this information without having to constantly ask for it? Thanks.
Comments
First, why are you asking the ee instead of their supervisor who should be taking a more active role? Second, if you have been communicating to that ee what you need and why, maybe you need to start using progressive discipline according to your written policies. You should only have one or two ees that fail to comply so when you document any action it would not be seen as retaliation. If all of your ees on FML are not complying, let us know ‘cause you may have another problem.
And if you just needed to vent, like we all do at times, that’s fine, too. Hope any of it helps. xhugs
My notice to employees clearly states that they must inform me if they are absent due to their FMLA qualifying condition but not many remember to tell me. I also tell them this when we meet after their leave has been approved.
At times I feel like we am running a daycare operation rather than a business.
I have to respectfully disagree with your attorney regarding your FMLA obligations. There have been court cases wherein it has been found that employers terminating employees for not following an employers call-in policy even though the absence is FMLA were within their rights to do so. I have terminated employees for not calling in in accordance with our policy even though their absence was FMLA qualifying.
As for your responsibility to determine if an absence qualifies as FMLA, I agree that it is the employers responsibility to recognize a potential FMLA situation and provide the appropriate paperwork but it is NOT your responsibility to follow-up with each employee after an absence to determine if that one was FMLA or not. If the employee is told, in very clear terms, that it is their responsibility to notify you of any FMLA absences and they fail to do so and end up being disciplined or terminated as a result of their failure, you are not liable for this. There have also been court cases addressing this issue and they have been found in favor of the employer.
I agree with your attorney that you cannot assess attendance points for an FMLA absence but that does NOT mean you have to traipse around asking each employee if their absence was FMLA.