The Essential Guide to Family & Medical Leave

chapter 4 | leave for a serious health condition | 61
Because “continuing treatment” is open to some interpretation, the
FMLA’s regulations define it as either:
• at least two treatments by a health care provider; nurse or physician’s
assistant acting under the direct supervision of a health care provider; or
provider of health care services acting on the orders of, or referral by, a
health care provider, or
• at least one treatment by a health care provider that results in a regimen
of continuing treatment under the provider’s supervision.
“Treatment” means an actual visit to the health care provider—not a
telephone consultation. It includes examinations to determine if a serious
health condition exists, evaluations of that condition, and actual treatment
to cure or alleviate the condition.
Lessons from the
Real World
Leave necessary to determine that a condition
isn’t serious might be FMLA-protected.
James Woodman was a truck driver for Miesel Sysco Food Services. When
Woodman suffered chest pains, he went to his doctor, who recommended
a series of tests to determine their source and whether Woodman had suffered
a heart attack. The doctor also recommended that Woodman take
time off until the problem was diagnosed.
Ultimately, the tests showed that Woodman had not suffered a heart
attack. His celebration was short-lived, however: Shortly thereafter, the
company fired him for taking unauthorized leave. Because he didn’t have
a heart attack, the company said, he also didn’t have a serious health
condition, so his absence wasn’t covered by the FMLA.
The Michigan Court of Appeals disagreed with the company’s conclusion,
however. The FMLA’s definition of treatment includes examinations to
determine whether a serious health condition exists—precisely what
Woodson required, as determined by his doctor.
Woodman v. Miesel Sysco Food Service Co., 8 W & H 2d 619 (Mich. Ct. Apps
2002).