Ask the Lawyer received the following question (paraphrased for easier reading and clarity) from a reader on a legal matter that might be of interest to the entire audience.
Q:
An employee tells coworkers that he will be taking off for a long weekend, but does not have seniority to receive leave and is on the work schedule for those days. The employee then calls in with an emergency and claims FMLA (Family & Medical Leave) for those same days. Is this FMLA abuse?
A:
The FMLA rules anticipate that an employee request a FMLA absence in advance. Recognizing that this is not always possible, OPM regulations do allow for an employee to request a FMLA absence for a serious health condition for up to 2 days after the employee’s return to duty. The agency may require medical evidence of the serious health condition. Generally, a serious health condition is defined as one night in the hospital or two visits to the doctor for the same condition. Thus, headaches, general malaise, colds and stomach aches that are either not treated by a doctor or only require one visit to the physician’s office do not qualify for FMLA. An employee who claims FMLA without being able to show a serious health condition risks an AWOL (absent without leave) status.
Disclaimer: Ask a Lawyer publishes information on this website for informational purposes only. Information on this website is intended – but not promised, guaranteed, or warranted – to reflect correct, complete and current developments. In addition, the contents of the website do not constitute legal advice and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the attorney. Information from this website is not intended to be used as a substitute for specific legal advice, nor should you consider it as such. You should not act, or refrain from acting, based on information on this website without seeking specific legal advice about your particular circumstances. No attorney-client relationship between you and Ask a Lawyer’s author is created by the transmission of information to or from this site.
