The Essential Guide to Family & Medical Leave

glossary | 293
Health care provider. A medical doctor, doctor of osteopathy, podiatrist,
dentist, optometrist, chiropractor (only for manual manipulation of
the spine to treat a subluxation of the spine—that is, misalignment of
vertebrae—identified by x-ray), clinical psychologist, nurse practitioner,
nurse midwife, clinical social worker, Christian Science practitioner, or
other provider from whom the employer will accept medical certification for
purposes of substantiating a claim for health care benefits.
Incapacity. Inability to work, attend school, or perform other regular daily
activities due to a serious health condition, treatment for the condition, or
recovery from the condition.
Independent contractor. A person who contracts to perform services for
another person or company but does not have the status of an employee; a
freelancer or consultant.
Individualized notice. Written information a company must provide to an
employee who requests or takes FMLA-qualified leave.
Inpatient care. Care that involves an overnight stay at a hospital, hospice, or
residential medical care facility.
Inquiry notice. Information provided by an employee indicating that an
absence might be FMLA-qualified, which creates an obligation for the
employer to inquire further.
Integrated employers. Companies that have common management,
interrelation between operations, centralized control of labor relations, and
common ownership or financial control.
Intermittent leave. FMLA leave taken in separate blocks of time for a single
qualifying reason, such as a course of treatment spread over months or flareups
of a chronic illness.
Joint employer. A company that shares control with another company over the
working conditions of the other company’s employees.
Key employee. A salaried employee in the highest-paid 10% of the company’s
employees working within 75 miles of the employee’s worksite.