The sweeping changes to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which took effect this past January, contain several provisions related to requests for medical certifications. For instance, the regulations increase the amount of time an employer has to request certification from 2 days to 5 days after receiving notice of a worker’s need for leave.
The regulations also provide employers with greater leeway in authenticating medical certifications and allow them additional opportunities to request certain information from a medical provider. The catch? This leeway comes with increased compliance requirements. One small slip, and your organization could find itself in a huge legal mess.
Order this in-depth, 90-minute audio conference recording all about the potential legal pitfalls – and how to avoid them.
You and your colleagues will learn:
- When and how to use the DOL’s new medical certification forms
- When you can and cannot contact a healthcare provider about a worker’s medical condition
- The questions you may ask a medical provider, and the legal line you must never cross when requesting medical information
- What to do if a worker's documentation is incomplete, vague, or unresponsive
- When you can legally deny leave based on an employee’s failure to provide sufficient and complete medical documentation
- The recertification challenges you could face in light of the new regulations
- When you may request a recertification
- The major effect the new regulations have on your requests for fitness-for-duty certifications
- Potential liability that could arise under the Americans with Disabilities Act if you mishandle medical certifications
This audio conference was recorded on Monday, August 3, 2009
About Your Speaker:
Naomi F. Katz, Esq., is a partner at the Chicago office of Holland & Knight, LLP. Katz represents private and public sector employers in all facets of labor and employment law, and her practice includes representing management in litigation pending in federal and state courts, hearings before administrative agencies, and mediation and arbitration proceedings. She has extensive experience with employee claims involving sex, race, national origin, age, and disability discrimination, wrongful discharge, sexual harassment, leaves of absence, long-term disability benefits, and workers’ compensation retaliation. She has also argued cases involving all aspects of employee discipline and discharge.
Approved for Recertification Credit
This program has been approved for 1.5 recertification credit hours toward PHR and SPHR recertification through the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI). For more information about certification or recertification, please visit the HRCI homepage at www.hrci.org.
