{"id":87,"date":"2018-11-09T09:00:21","date_gmt":"2018-11-09T16:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.complianceprime.com\/blog\/?p=87"},"modified":"2024-05-10T15:58:01","modified_gmt":"2024-05-10T10:28:01","slug":"5-ways-to-stop-fmla-abuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.complianceprime.com\/blog\/2018\/11\/09\/5-ways-to-stop-fmla-abuse\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways to Stop FMLA Abuse"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether it is 80 degrees Fahrenheit outside or it is snowing, it makes for a perfect excuse to bunk office, especially if the weekend is approaching. For employees, it may mean an early weekend, but for employers, it is a stumbling block in managing everyday affairs. The problem of absenteeism is plaguing both government and corporate entities. The most noteworthy element in such absenteeism by employees is that most of these are a result of FMLA abuse<\/strong>. In fact, the Family Medical and Leave Act<\/strong> empowers employees<\/a><\/u> to such an extent that employees very often resort to abusing the act and take unscheduled leave. Employers often feel vulnerable at not being able to curb such abuses.<\/p>\n

However, not many employers know how to stop FMLA abuse<\/a><\/u> and therefore absenteeism. Here are some of the methods to stop FMLA abuse.<\/p>\n

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Submitting Leave Request Forms Can Be Made Mandatory<\/h2>\n

The employer cannot deny FMLA leave<\/strong> to any employee who puts up a notice to the employer about his or her need for leave. However, it requires that the employee actually pens down his or her request to the employer. This can deter habitual absentees from FMLA abuse<\/strong> and bring down absenteeism markedly.<\/p>\n

Enforcing A Call-in Policy May Auger Well<\/h2>\n

Although the act does empower employees to take unscheduled leave, employers can devise their own mechanisms and systems to deal with FMLA requests. You can enforce a policy whereby employees need to call in to report an absence at least an hour before their shift. If the concerned employee does not abide by the policy, the employer can deny FMLA leave to him or her. However, you also need to make sure that there is no element of emergency in the unscheduled leave. Such a policy may deter employees since it would require absentee calls every day at least an hour before the start of the shift.<\/p>\n

Communication Lines Can Be Kept Open<\/h2>\n

It has been seen that maintaining contact with employees who are on FMLA leave<\/strong> can deter such abuse to a great extent. In fact, even if you don\u2019t have a formal call-in policy, you can deploy call staffers to contact employees on FMLA leave at least once a week.<\/p>\n

Self-certification by employees can be a strong deterrent factor<\/h2>\n

You can enforce a policy by which employees need to certify their absence.\u00a0 If need be, employees may even be made to recertify their absence in case there is a change in circumstances. You need to give 15-days time to the employee to get the certification and return the form to you. Nevertheless, you need to make sure that there are no unavoidable circumstances for which the employee is not able to comply with the certification requirement.<\/p>\n

A Set of Specific Questions to Put to Employees Can Be Useful<\/h2>\n

Employers do have the right to ask certain questions to employees calling in to report sick<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can ask questions regarding-<\/p>\n