The Essential Guide to Family & Medical Leave

chapter 6 | how much leave can an employee tAke? | 107
When Can an Employee Take Intermittent
or Reduced-Schedule Leave?
An employee may take intermittent or reduced-schedule leave if it’s
medically necessary for a serious health condition (the employee’s own or
that of a family member). As explained in Chapter 5, the FMLA doesn’t
require you to provide intermittent or reduced-schedule parenting leave, but
you’re permitted to do so as long as you do it consistently.
Here are some examples of conditions that qualify for intermittent or
reduced-schedule leave:
• An employee is receiving chemotherapy and radiation treatment for cancer.
The weekly treatment renders him unable to work, so he reduces his
schedule by one afternoon per week to receive treatment and recover
afterward.
• An employee’s mother has multiple sclerosis. Some days, she is able to
care for herself; other days, she needs assistance. The employee can take
intermittent leave to care for her mother when necessary.
• An employee has back surgery to repair a herniated disk. The employee
returns to work part time for several weeks, until he is strong enough to
work full time. Afterward, the employee takes a couple of hours off each
Friday to go to physical therapy, as well as an hour every other week for a
doctor’s appointment to check his progress. This employee is using both
reduced-schedule leave and intermittent leave.