FMLA policy compliance checklist
Ensure your company’s compliance and policy language with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) with our checklist for employers.
Ensure your company’s compliance and policy language with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) with our checklist for employers.
Employer responsibilities under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) begin before an employee even requests a leave. The FMLA requires that employers provide general notice to employees about their FMLA rights and responsibilities. These general notices must be posted in the workplace and, if an FMLA-covered employer has any eligible employees, included in employee handbooks so that employees understand their leave rights and the steps they must take to exercise those rights before they need FMLA leave.
On top of that, employers also have specific notice obligations that require them to inform employees of their FMLA rights and responsibilities when employees actually seek FMLA leave (employees don’t always remember policies and information from when they were first hired). These notice requirements help employees understand their eligibility and utilize what’s available to them under the FMLA.
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First, make sure you have the required posters displayed at your worksite. The Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (the agency responsible for enforcing FMLA) publishes the required FMLA posting.
Tip: Covered employers must display this poster even if they don’t have any FMLA-eligible employees.
Next, review your FMLA policy. The FMLA policy in your employee handbook must contain, at a minimum, the information provided in the FMLA poster. Here are some of the most important things you need to include:
FMLA provides eligible employees with job-protected leave for qualifying family and medical reasons. For private sector employers, FMLA is enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. Eligible employees can take up to 12 workweeks of FMLA leave in a 12-month period for certain qualifying reasons that include:
Employees have the right to use FMLA leave in one continuous block of time. When it is medically necessary or otherwise permitted (i.e., you allow this as an employer), employees may take FMLA leave intermittently in separate blocks of time, or on a reduced schedule by working less hours each day or week.
Explain that employees must:
Tip: There are special rules for employees who do not have a fixed physical worksite, such as outside sales people or remote employees.
Explain that employees must:
Tip: Some states, such as California, prohibit employers from seeking medical diagnosis. Check with counsel on any state specific medical confidentiality rules that overlap with FMLA.
Explain that the FMLA does not affect any federal or state law prohibiting discrimination, or supersede any state or local law or collective bargaining agreement that provides greater family or medical leave rights.
Explain that, if an employee is eligible for FMLA leave, as a company, you must:
Explain that, after becoming aware that the employee’s need for leave is for a reason that may qualify under the FMLA, you must:
Confirm whether or not the employee is eligible for FMLA leave and provide written notice of:
As always, check with your legal counsel to ensure that your FMLA and other leave and accommodation policies fulfill all federal, state and local law requirements, and are fully aligned with your other employment policies and benefits. This checklist generally applies to private sector employers. Please note that there are special FMLA requirements for certain school employees, airline flight crew personnel, and employees covered by collective bargaining agreements.