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"not known at this time"?

IrieIrie 482 Posts
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What do you do with Certifications of Health Care Providers when the doctor doesn't complete the "If yes, give the probable duration:" section or writes in "not known at this time"? Also, what if they don't complete the "...additional treatments" section. Do you send it back and insist they complete this section?

I just received one that says, "not known at this time please contact Dr. ________." Like I'm going to contact the doctor!

If you send it back they'll probably just return it with the same information. This is so frustrating and I have other things to do besides be a babysitter for FMLA. (Thanks for letting me vent.)
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  • 6 Comments sorted by Votes Date Added
  • HR JonesHR Jones 18 Posts
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    We receive several forms missing this same information. We have started providing "Provisional Approvals" in these cases, allowing the employee 15 calendar days to "cure the deficiency" in their form. In the provisional approval letter, I state that in order for their request to be approved, Sections X, Part X must be answered completely and must provide an anticipated duration and anticipated days the employee will be absent from work. I also state that Unknown, As Needed and Unable to Be Determined are not acceptable answers to these questions.

    Employees usually call and explain that they don't know how often they will need to be out, or for how long, and I simply remind them that it is an estimate, and can be based on their past history with the condition. Miraculously, all certifications now are being sent in or eventually sent it with all required documentation.

    As long as you are consistent with applying this practice for everyone, it works great. A little hassle in the beginning with extra paperwork, but it is work it to be able to have the schedule for us. That way you can at least hold the employee accountable to only a certain amount of time off.

    Hope that helps! Good luck.
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  • IrieIrie 482 Posts
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    Thanks HR Jones. That helps a lot and is exactly what I am going to do from now on.
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  • ACU FrankACU Frank 2,188 Posts
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    This creates a tough sitation for us. We give the EEs a deadline to get the documentation to us, but the doctors fill it out when they're good and ready.
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  • HR JonesHR Jones 18 Posts
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    At an FMLA seminar I went to, this question was raised. At the advice of the lawyer there, I typically give the allowed 15 calendar days with the provisional approval. If they don't get it in, I have given a second provisional approval to them for another 15 days. If the schedule isn't provided by that time, I send a denial letter. This usually gets the form in pretty quickly at that point. The employee just needs to see that you are serious about requiring the information, and then they get the form in no problem.
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  • ACU FrankACU Frank 2,188 Posts
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    I'm glad this came up, though... For some reason I thought the recommendation was 15 business days, not calendar days. That's not smart of me, because most everything HR does is based on calendar days, but I'm not always as sharp as my employees think I am. ;)

    Anyway, I just sent out a "hey your 15 business days are almost up and if I don't get something by Tuesday you're fired" letter. Oh well.
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  • HRQHRQ 2,849 Posts
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    You know what works better than a "15 days are up" letter? Tell their supervisor that they haven't responded and you are about to deny their leave.

    The employee "belongs" to the supervisor. In my company, the supervisor can call them and gently urge them to get their forms in or the leave will be denied, they won't get STD benefits, (claim will be denied if they are no longer employed at the time of the disability) and they lose all seniority if they want to come back at the end of what would have been their leave.

    If the employee still fails to return the forms, I send the letter.

    In our area, there is a big shortage of qualified childcare teachers. Our industry has pretty high staff turnover in general and we are constantly looking for quality staff. We do whatever we can to keep people, and the supervisor's phone call often helps.

    True, with some employees we'd rather just let the deadline expire and deny the leave, but in most cases, we want to keep the employee, so we try to be consistent. It's worth it.
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