The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical 
reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave. Eligible employees are entitled to:
- Twelve workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for:
- The birth of a child and to care for the newborn child within one year of birth;
- The placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care and to care for the newly placed child;
- To care for the employee’s spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition;
- A serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his or her job;
- Any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a covered military member on “covered active duty;” or
- Twenty-six workweeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness if the eligible employee is the service member’s spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin (military caregiver leave).
The intent is to allow employees to balance work and family life. However, sometimes FMLA is abused, which causes a drain on the employers’ bottom line as well as the team’s morale and productivity. Most employer complaints involve the FMLA intermittent leave provision, which lets workers take just a few hours or minutes off work with short notice.
Workers with attendance problems can be the worst abusers.
Listed below are seven (7) ways to eliminate FMLA abuse:
- Look for patterns of abuse/absences, such as Monday/Friday, seasonal, etc.
- Require employees to provide 30 days notice for foreseeable FMLA leave
- Assign employees taking intermittent leave to alternate positions that cause less disruption, if possible
- Assign employees taking intermittent leave to alternate positions that cause less disruption, if possible
- Insist that employees schedule medical treatments around operations
- Require recertification in 30 day increments
- Make sure the FMLA process and your policies are followed appropriately
- Deny claims if possible
Need help with FMLA issues? Call Us today at (877) 356-6175.
