Another question we hear employers asking is whether the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) has any effect on an employee’s workers compensation coverage. This is an issue that has many different facets to it each of which must be carefully examined before answering with a solid yes or no. The first thing to determine however is whether you, the business owner, understand what the FMLA is all about. The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that was passed in order to provide employees a way to take time from work in order to attend to urgent familial or health related issues. 

Which employers are affected by the FMLA?

Any employer who has fifty or more employees must abide by the FMLA. When defining an employee for this purpose, the individual must have worked with the current employer for a minimum of either one year or 1250 hours.

How much time does the FMLA allot those covered by it?

An employee may claim up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave during one twelve month period when due to serious health issues. It is important to note that an employer can require the employee to substitute any vacation time, sick time or leave that has been earned up to the point that the time off has been requested. The employee can also elect to take this time as well.

Can I place the returning employee in a different position?

When your employee is able to return to work you must allow her to return to the position she left OR to an equivalent position (pay rate, hours, benefits, etc).

Is FMLA leave paid?

TYPICALLY, FMLA leave is unpaid unless the employee must first use up any paid vacation or sick time. NOTE: the other exception here of course would be in the event of an overlap between FMLA benefits and workers compensation benefits.

What happens if the employee does not return within the twelve week period?

If the worker cannot come back after that time period has expired usually the employer is not obligated to rehire the individual down the road. This means that the employer is not required to hold the individual’s position open past the twelve week period. AGAIN: this depends heavily on whether the FMLA is overlapping workers compensation benefits.

The laws surrounding FMLA, how it is defined, how it is selected, and how it applies are very complex. Being able to understand each of the guidelines and requirements is an absolute must before you begin deciding whether your employees are able to apply for it or not. Keep in mind also that there can be a great deal of overlap in the FMLA, the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), and workers compensation. Before simply which one may apply to a current employee you should take the time to determine whether you have enough knowledge on the subject or whether you could do with a deeper degree of explanation on the process as a whole.

Never fear! We can point you in the right direction in order to find out all you need to know about whether workers compensation should solely cover, concurrently run, or not be used according to your employees’ needs and situations.