518-373-4111
Q: An employee will be out for up to 6 weeks for a medical reason and has requested a leave of absence. Should the employee follow Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) guidelines and fill out paperwork as they were injured at a second job? How should we proceed?
A: If your company has 50 or more employees, the employee will most likely be eligible for FMLA leave. Offering FMLA is a statutory requirement when an employee has a serious health condition that will preclude them from working. To be eligible, they must have been employed with the company for at least 12 months and worked at least 1,250 hours in the last 12 months immediately preceding the leave request. If the employee meets all of these eligibility requirements, you are required to offer an FMLA leave of absence of up to 12 weeks.
FMLA is an unpaid but protected leave. The company is required to continue the employee’s benefits during this leave. The company must continue to pay its portion of the regular benefits premium, and the employee will need to remit payment for their regular portion of the benefit premiums in order to continue health insurance coverage. The company will be required to restore the employee to the same or an equivalent role once the employee has been medically released to return to work.
For more information, contact GTM at (518) 373-4111.
