Comments on: The wrong way to replace a worker on FMLA

By: Sam Narisi

Sam Narisi — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:43:12 +0000

Gaynell,

Yep; when an employee takes FMLA (including intermittent) the benefits must remain intact as they would if the employee hadn’t taken leave.

Sam Narisi
Editor
HRLegalNews

By: Beth

Beth — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:49:48 +0000

Actually, you *can* dock exempt employees’ pay for time they miss due to intermittent FMLA. Check the regs. You just prorate their salary to a 40-hour week. It’s done all the time and is not considered to jeopardize exempt status. FMLA creates extenuating circumstances.

By: Gaynell Coleman

Gaynell Coleman — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 21:05:48 +0000

Putting a full time employee in a part time position – Will the employee still be considered a full time employee with all the benefits offered to a full time employee?

By: Cindy

Cindy — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 19:15:06 +0000

When an exempt employee needs Intermittent FMLA, their status changes to non exempt. They are then paid what their hourly wage would be. The duties should change to fit the schedule also.

By: Barbara Perlock

Barbara Perlock — Thu, 22 May 2008 14:54:23 +0000

I have an employee who has filed a request for “Intermittent FMLA”. She is a nurse and there are duties required of her to be her at the beginning of her shift that starts at 7:00 a.m. She states that she has a child with separation anxiety. She comes in anywhere from 7:15 a.m. to 8 a.m. to report for her shift. Sometimes she notifies the facility and sometimes she does not. My question is, does this really qualify for “Intermittent FMLA”? She recently has other home issues including a divorce – prior to this we had no request for “Intermittent FMLA”. The FMLA paperwork from the doctor states F/U appts usually every 6 mths – may increase to every 3 to 4 months. However, when she last took her child to an appt – she called off in the morning and stated that she had this appt. She was asked to provide info that she went to the appt and never did. Her notice is now 13 1/2 months old and she was asked to provide a new certification request – which she has failed to do at this time.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 21 May 2008 20:34:02 +0000

I wonder how this works for an Exempt employee who is paid on a salary and not an hourly basis. Exempt employees are exempted from the Wage and Hour overtime requirements. There is no limit to the hours that they are expected to put in to get the job done. If an exempt employee applies for intermittent FMLA to take care of someone else or their own medical concerns, and the employee is permitted to adjust their schedule and still gets paid their normal wage (there is no docking for the FMLA), then I would expect that the employee would still be expected to get the job done. In the DOl guidelines for FMLA, 825.117 it states “Employees needing intermittent FMLA leave or leave on a reduced leave schedule must attempt to schedule their leave so as not to disrupt the employer’s operations. In addition, an employer may assign an employee to an alternative position with equivalent pay and benefits that better accommodates the employee’s intermittent or reduced leave schedule.” I wonder if an employee submits for intermittent FMLA but the situation can be handled by a schedule adjustment, are they considered on FMLA?

It seems crazy that FMLA could require that an employer change performance standards for employees in addition to providing time off to take care of medical issues. I would think that treating this employee like an “hourly” employee and reassigning job assignments could jeopardize their “Exempt” status.