WEBVTT

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Last week, I had a person out for three days
with what was later described as a cold...

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and he wanted the time off designated as FMLA leave.

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Now, I know he saw a doctor and
I know he got a prescription,

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but how can a cold be considered
a serious health condition?

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First of all, you should never be the one to
make a final determination on whether or not

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something is considered a "serious health condition."

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That should always be left to your HR department.

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However, you do need to have at least a working knowledge
of what qualifies as a "serious health condition"

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and all of the other reasons an employee's
time off can be designated as an FMLA leave.

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Up to 12 weeks of FMLA leave per year can be taken for:

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A serious health condition of employee,
their spouse, child, or parent.

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To care for an adult child who has a disability.

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Birth of the employee’s child.

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Placement with the employee of a
child for adoption or foster care.

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Any qualifying exigency because the employee’s spouse,

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child, or parent is a military
member on active foreign deployment.

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Up to 26 weeks of FMLA leave per year can be
taken: to care for the employee’s spouse, child,

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parent or next of kin who is a military
member with a serious injury or illness.

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As you can imagine, each of these
situations is defined by law,

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and it’s up to your HR department to
meet the technical requirements.

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But let’s talk about most of the common situations, and

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what is the serious health condition of
the employee or their family member.

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What is a serious health condition? The key concept
is that the person must be “incapacitated.”

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Such as a chronic condition with periods of INCAPACITY
that require treatment at least twice a year,

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or INCAPACITY due to pregnancy.

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Under the law, a serious health condition includes a
condition that requires an overnight hospital stay.

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That’s probably obvious. But it also includes a condition
that incapacitates a person for four or more days

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AND requires continuing treatment
by a health care provider.

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In my experience, it's the law's
definition of "continuing treatment"

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that causes the most confusion for managers because
it's possible for the common cold to qualify

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as a serious health condition
under the right circumstances.

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Let's say an employee calls in sick with a bad
cold and is out for four consecutive days.

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Finally the employee goes to the
doctor, who diagnoses pneumonia.

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The doctor prescribes medication and gives
the employee a few more days off to recover.

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Even though she's never been in the hospital
and she never sees the doctor again,

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her time off could be designated as an FMLA leave

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because taking medication qualifies as
receiving on going, continuing treatment.