Human Resource Blog

FMLA

If an employee request and granted FMLA for their own health and the request cross calendar year ( 10/09 - 4/10), should there be 2 request (10/09 - 12/09 and 1/10 - 4/10)?

This will depend upon how your company chooses to tabulate FMLA. The US Department of Labor has approved 4 different methods. By far the most common method is the rolling calendar, beginning with the first day the employee took a day off under FMLA. If your company is using that method, in the question above, the 12-month period for FMLA begins on October 9, 2009 — the first day the employee was absent from work. We will note that if your company is using that method, this employee will exceed his or her FMLA leave on 2/11. At that point, you may be able to terminate the employee for excessive absenteeism unless the employee returns to work. (If the employee has a permanent disability, different rules apply.)

If this is, in face, one continous absence, then you can only require that the employee submit one FMLA certification form.  (This would apply, for example, if you were a university that was on winter break from 12/10 to 1/10.) Once that condition ends, you can require that the employees serious health condition be recertified. You can also require recertification every 6 months, even if the condition is ongoing.

If the employee actually returns to work on 12/10, then obviously he or she must complete new FMLA papers to go on leave again on 1/10.

Many employees assume that the FMLA 12-month period is a calendar year, but that is very rarely true. While some employers begin a new FMLA year every January, or on each employees anniversary date, that is unusual.