As a covered employer, your company must offer qualifying workers FMLA leave. You want to help a family member with a serious health condition, but you also want to ensure your employer does everything right. After all, you still want a job to come back to.
Chron explains what companies must include in their FMLA leave letters. Do your part to ensure your company does not violate your rights.
Employee eligibility
If you qualify for FMLA leave, your letter should note your eligibility. The letter may include forms your employer requires workers to complete before starting their leave, which may include Form WH-381 and Form WH-380. Check to see whether the letter notes if you must use your paid time off for leave. You likely have 15 days to have your doctor complete Form WH-380 and return it to your employer.
Proof of familial relationship
Because you want FMLA leave to care for a relative with a serious health condition, your employer may want you to prove your familial relationship. Other than providing proof, you must still have a physician complete Form WH-380 and receive a letter listing your and your employer’s FMLA leave rights and obligations. The same applies if you want time off to care for a family service member.
Employee ineligibility
If you do not qualify for FMLA leave, your employer should give you a letter stating as much. The letter must include the reason for your ineligibility with the Notice of Eligibility and Rights & Responsibilities Form WH-381. Even if you do not qualify for FMLA leave, you could have other options.
Not knowing what belongs on an FMLA letter could cost you more than you realize. When you have all the facts, you may better understand when your company may be on the wrong side of the law.