The Essential Guide to Family & Medical Leave

238 | the essential guide to family and medical leave
When Employees Don’t Return From Leave
When an employee is unable to—or decides not to—come back to work
after taking FMLA leave, your company might be able to recover at least
some of the money it spent to continue the employee’s benefits.
When You Can Seek Reimbursement for Benefits
The company has a right to reimbursement only if the employee chose not to
return to work. The purpose of this rule is to avoid heaping more problems
on employees who are already losing their jobs due to circumstances out of
their control.
You cannot recover any money spent on benefits continuation if the
employee can’t return due to:
• The continuation of the serious health condition for which the employee
took leave. This applies whether the employee is too ill to return to work
or the employee’s family member continues to require care after the
employee’s FMLA leave ends.
• Other circumstances beyond the employee’s control. This exception applies
if an employee cannot return to work for other reasons, such as: the
employee needs time off to care for new child with a serious health
condition; the employee’s spouse is transferred to a location more than
75 miles away from the employee’s worksite; the employee is needed to
care for a relative who has a serious health condition but doesn’t qualify
as a family member under the FMLA; the employee is not reinstated due
to the “key employee” exception (see above); or the employee is laid off
while on leave. This exception doesn’t apply if the employee chooses to
stay home with a new child who is healthy or to stay with a parent who
no longer has a serious health condition.
Tip
Request a medical certification for continuing health conditions. If an
employee can’t return to work because of a continuing serious health
condition, you are legally entitled to ask the employee to provide a medical
certification. Like regular medical certifications, it’s a good idea to request