The Complications Surrounding Intermittent FMLA Leave

By: Erin Hussey, Esq.

 

The Complications Surrounding Intermittent FMLA Leave

 

The Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) is a federal law requiring certain employers (employers who employ 50 or more employees, for at least 20 workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year, in a 75 mile radius), to provide eligible employees an unpaid, job-protected leave of absence that continues the employee’s health benefits. It is offered for family and medical reasons and an eligible employee may take up to 12 workweeks of leave in a 12 month period. This timeline appears straightforward, but complications arise when employees take this leave in separate blocks of time, even an hour at a time (when it is medically necessary and for the same serious health condition). This is called intermittent FMLA leave.

 

Employers should ensure they are administering intermittent FMLA leave properly given the complications it can present:

 

1.            Recordkeeping: Complications can occur with tracking intermittent FMLA leave because an employee’s schedule could vary from week to week and the employer may have to measure FMLA in hourly increments or less. When these intermittent FMLA leaves occur, an employer must be diligent in tracking the leave to avoid liability of non-compliance with FMLA. For example, in Tillman v. Ohio Bell Tel. Co., 545 F. App'x 340 (6th Cir. 2013), an employee was out on intermittent FMLA leave and the employee did not provide information when asked by the employer for recertification of that leave. The employer subsequently terminated the employee. Since the employer kept thorough records of this, the court upheld the employee’s termination and the employer won the lawsuit.

 

2.            Communication: It is important for an employer to maintain communication with the employee who is out on intermittent FMLA leave. For example, in Walpool v. Frymaster, L.L.C., No. CV 17-0558, 2017 WL 5505396 (W.D. La. Nov. 16, 2017), the employee was terminated and he brought suit claiming interference with his intermittent FMLA leave and that his discharge was in retaliation of his right to take FMLA leave. The employer claimed that the employee did not follow normal policies and procedures for giving notice of an absence. However, the employee won the case. The bottom line here is that if the employer believes the employee has provided inadequate notice, the employer should maintain communication with the employee before taking any immediate adverse action.

 

3.            Paid v. Unpaid: In a recent Opinion Letter dated April 12, 2018, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division addressed a situation where an employee requested 15 minute breaks every hour under FMLA. This creates complications for employers because FMLA is unpaid and determining which 15 minute breaks are unpaid under FMLA, and which ones are paid, can be difficult for employers to track. This issue is discussed in the Opinion Letter.

 

The takeaway here is that employers should determine what their best practices will be for administering intermittent FMLA properly. Once the employer determines what their best practices are, the employer should implement them and administer their employees’ intermittent FMLA leaves accordingly.