Dealing with Intermittent Leave Issues under the Family and Medical Leave Act

Intermittent leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act is when an employee takes frequent short absences for his/her serious health condition or the serious health condition of a family member. This arrangement can cause logistical concerns for employers, especially when attempting to maintain productivity. We will cover some of the key issues when dealing with intermittent absences, including how to proceed when there are concerns about possible abuse of FMLA leave.

Is your company following the requirements of the Family and Medical Leave Act when dealing with employees who take frequent intermittent absences under the FMLA? Failure to follow the law properly could expose a company to potential damages. This webinar will help you ensure that your company is applying the FMLA properly when dealing with intermittent leave.

• A short refresher on the basic framework of the Family and Medical Leave Act
• How to calculate the amount of time an eligible employee has available under FMLA?
• How to determine what the smallest increment of unpaid leave is at your workplace?
• How the certification procedures can help ensure that the need for intermittent leave is legitimate?
• What options are available for employers who suspect abuse of FMLA intermittent leave?
• Second opinion and third opinion
• Recertification options
• Timing of recertification
• Recertification exceptions
• When can an employee using intermittent leave be transferred?
• Potential damages for violating FMLA

The Family and Medical Leave Act provides twelve weeks of unpaid leave for eligible employees. This leave can be taken in long blocks of time or shorter absences, sometimes even just part of a workday. These shorter absences, when taken for an FMLA-qualifying reason, are protected by FMLA as intermittent leave. Intermittent leave can pose several logistical problems for employers, especially concerning productivity and consistency.

However, FMLA provides numerous options for employers to manage intermittent leave. This webinar will cover those options and will help companies determine whether they are applying for FMLA intermittent leave properly. It will also highlight various tools available to combat potential abuse of intermittent leave.

• Human Resources (CHRO, Vice President, Director, Manager, Generalist)
• Hiring manager
• Business owners/executive officers/operations and departmental managers
• General manager/plant manager

Rebecca Jacobs is a Training Consultant and Employment Law Attorney with Rebecca Jacobs LLC. Collaborating with her clients, Rebecca develops and presents customized employee training on topics such as harassment prevention, bystander intervention, and discrimination avoidance. She also trains managers on numerous matters, including family and medical leave and disability accommodation requests.

Since 2006, she has been an adjunct lecturer for the Department of Management and Human Resources at the Ohio State University's Max M. Fisher College of Business. She teaches the "Contemporary Employment Practices and the Law" class and has recently expanded her teaching to include “Contemporary Employment Practices and the Law II.”

She has been an employment law attorney for over 20 years and tried several cases in federal and state courts, including oral argument before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. She has counseled clients on numerous employment law matters and has prepared employee policies and handbooks. In January 2019, Columbus CEO magazine quoted her in “Employment Law: Making it Official with Love Contracts”. She holds a Juris Doctorate from Vanderbilt University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is admitted to practice law in Ohio and licensed (inactive) in California.