Human Resource Blog

Paid Time Off and FMLA in Ohio

If an employee uses paid time off for a serious medical problem, such as sick time or short-term disability, can that be counted towards their 12 weeks of unpaid leave under FMLA in Ohio?

The U.S. Department of Labor does allow companies to set policies deducting a worker’s 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave. But it can only be counted if the employer has created a policy and has made that policy clear to the worker when the leave begins. It’s best to put the policy in writing.

The Labor Department in general allows companies to set policies saying workers must use any kinds of unpaid leave first. That includes sick time, vacation time, personal days, or short-term disabilities.

Again, however, the employee must be told this ahead of time, and the policy must be used consistently, with all workers.

Some companies, by the way, will permit their workers to use up all of their vacation or short term disability leave first, then take 12 weeks of unpaid leave on top of that. It is entirely legal, provided, again, that it is applied consistently.

Here’s how the FMLA, or Family and Medical Leave Act, works:

Employees are legally entitled to get 12 weeks of unpaid leave. It is allowable when the worker is either recovering from childbirth or is seriously ill. FMLA time is also used for care of a new child, whether it is a newborn, a newly adopted child, or a new foster child. Finally, it may be taken in order to care for an immediate member of the family who is suffering from a serious illness.

The job is “protected.” That is to say, the employee is entitled to return to the same position, or one with similar pay, benefits, and conditions, when he or she returns to work.

Incidentally, if a worker takes off more than 12 weeks thereby using up her or his FMLA leave time and continues to take time off, the job is no longer protected. It is entirely up to the employer at that point whether or not to employ the worker when she or he wants to return to the job. As in every other case, the employer’s decision must be applied consistently in each case. JH