WEBVTT

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Look, I've got a lot on my plate. To be honest,
what I really want to know is... bottom line

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as a manager what am I responsible
for when it comes to FMLA.

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As a manager, you've got several
responsibilities when it comes to the FMLA.

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Things like making sure your people understand
their rights and responsibilities under the law;

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making sure they understand your organization's
policies, and so on. Those are pretty basic.

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When an employee requests leave even if
they haven’t mentioned the FMLA at all

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you should immediately refer them
to your Human Resources office.

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HR needs to get information from the
employee to decide if it is FMLA.

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HR also may need to get a medical certification
from their health care provider.

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Now you might not want to bother HR, but it’s actually
in YOUR best interest to designate leave as FMLA.

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Once FMLA leave is designated, that is
when the 12 week clock starts ticking.

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I’ve had cases where an employee was out for weeks
before the manager got around to calling HR.

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That meant the employee got to take off
those weeks, PLUS the 12 weeks of FMLA.

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Let's say you come in to work and have a
voice mail from one of your people saying

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she's had a family emergency and she's taking
off the next two weeks. She'll call you later.

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Well, in those kinds of situations, you don’t know
if it’s FMLA or not. So it’s best to call HR.

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They may designate the leave as conditional FMLA,

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until they have enough information
to make a final decision.

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And speaking of employee obligations, your employees
are required to provide you with at least

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30 days notice of the need for
leave, if the leave is foreseeable.

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For example, if an employee is pregnant and is
planning an extended leave after the birth of a child,

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she has to submit a request for
leave at least 30 days in advance.

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If the need for a leave isn't foreseeable
for example, a medical emergency

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then the employee has to provide you with A
notice within a reasonable amount of time

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based on the circumstances involved.

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The bottom line here is that one
of your biggest responsibilities

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is to let your employees know about their
rights and responsibilities under the law;

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and you can be held personally
liable if you don't.

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So, don't just post a notice or
refer an employee to a handbook.

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Take the time to make sure that
they sit down and talk with HR.

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Make sure they really understand
both their rights and obligations.