The Essential Guide to Family & Medical Leave

chapter 9 | managing an employee’s leave | 207
Mistake 3: Mismanaging intermittent leave.
Avoid This Mistake By:
• Seeking recertification of the employee’s condition, if necessary. If
an employee is taking leave beyond what the medical certification
anticipated, ask for another one.
• Making sure that every qualified absence is designated as FMLA leave.
An employee who takes a lot of intermittent leave may also take time off
for other reasons—such as vacation or minor illnesses. You need to know
which absences count as FMLA leave, so ask these employees to talk to
you or another manager every time they need time off.
• Requiring employees to stick to their treatment schedules. If an employee
needs intermittent leave for scheduled treatment, the certification
should state when that treatment will be. You can ask the employee to
reschedule, with the doctor’s approval, to avoid undue disruption to the
company’s operations.
• Transferring the employee, if necessary. You are entitled to transfer the
employee temporarily to a position that better accommodates his or
her need for intermittent leave. Just make sure that the transfer isn’t a
demotion in disguise.
Mistake 4: Firing or disciplining an employee for taking FMLA leave—or
appearing to do so.
Avoid This Mistake By:
• Consulting with a lawyer—every time. Because it’s so easy to get in
trouble here, you should always talk to a lawyer to make sure that you’ve
made the right decision before taking action.
• Making sure you have a very compelling reason to fire the employee.
Even if your company is an at-will employer (as most are), this isn’t the
time to exercise your right to fire without a very good reason.
• Firing only if you can prove that you would have taken the same action
if the employee hadn’t taken leave. This means, for example, being able
to document that termination proceedings were in the works before the
employee requested leave or that you discovered truly egregious problems
that warrant immediate firing.