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Our HR experts answer frequently asked employee benefits and disability questions.  For more frequently asked questions, check out our other faq pages on employee compensation and HR administration.

Employee Benefits & Disability FAQ’s

Question: Can you explain when an employee can use FMLA?

Answer: To take FMLA leave, an employee must work for a covered employer, be an eligible employee, and be using the leave for a covered reason.

An employer is a covered employer if they have 50 or more employees.

An employee is an eligible employee if they have worked for the employer for at least 12 months in the last seven years, worked at least 1,250 hours for the employer during the 12-month period immediately before the leave, and work at a location where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles.

The following are covered reasons for leave under FMLA:

  • The birth of a child and to care for the newborn child within one year of birth;
  • The placement of a child for adoption or foster care and to care for that child within one year of placement;
  • To care for the employee’s spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition;
  • A serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of their job;
  • Any qualifying exigency because the employee’s spouse, child, or parent is a military member on active duty.

Under FMLA, a covered employer could conceivably have no eligible employees. Similarly, an employee who works for a covered employer and has a serious health condition could not be an eligible employee because, for example, they don’t work at a worksite with 50 or more employees within 75 miles.

Question: What steps should we take if an employee has an accident or gets hurt on the job?

Answer: First, make certain that the employee receives any immediate medical care they need. Their health and safety should be the initial priority.

Once you’ve done that, then you can turn your attention to recording and reporting the injury. It is important to allow your employee to complete a workers’ compensation claim form, which can be obtained from your insurance provider. Most workers’ compensation policies require notice of an injury to be reported within 24 hours of the incident. If your organization is subject to OSHA’s recordkeeping requirements, then the injury should be recorded within seven days on the OSHA 300 Log and 301 Incident Report.

If the injury prevents the employee from working altogether or doing the essential functions of the job, you may need to determine whether other laws—such as the Family and Medical Leave Act or the Americans with Disabilities Act—come into play.

After the emergency response and reporting steps have been initiated, you can begin an investigation process to determine the cause of the incident and identify any corrective actions that would reduce the likelihood of future incidents.

You can learn more about these laws and regulations on the HR Support Center.

Question: Can an employee returning from FMLA leave be placed in a different role with the same level of pay?

Answer: Upon return from a leave taken pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), an employee must be restored to his or her original job or to an equivalent job with the same pay, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment. The new position must involve the same or substantially similar duties and responsibilities and require substantially equivalent skill, effort, responsibility and authority in order to be considered a truly equivalent position.

We recommend that employees be reinstated to the same exact position whenever possible as courts have generally been reluctant to find different positions as being equivalent if there is any change in reporting relationship, skills used on the job, status of the position, or basic duties. It can be very difficult to find alternative positions that will meet all the requirements of being equivalent.

The same pay alone in a new role would be a different position. Additionally, even when the base pay is the same, according to the Department of Labor (the agency that enforces the FMLA), equivalent pay includes the same or equivalent pay premiums, such as shift differentials, and the same opportunity for overtime as the job held prior to FMLA leave.

One exception to this is when the position no longer exits due to unrelated factors. In other words, an employee on FMLA leave, is not protected from actions that would have affected him or her if the employee was not on FMLA leave. While position changes due to unrelated restructuring are allowed under the FMLA, these situations do increase the risk of liability should the employee make a claim of retaliation, as the employer will bear the burden of proving that the changes were completely unrelated to the FMLA leave.

We recommend that employers either take this chance to cross train existing employees or hire temporary staff to fill the role of the worker on FMLA leave. In any case, the employer should notify the replacement worker that the change is temporary and will end upon return of the employee on FMLA leave.

Question: Our employees are mostly remote workers. Do we have to provide their workstation desk and chair or are the employees responsible for this equipment?

Answer: You can provide this equipment for your remote employees, but you usually do not have to do so.

In some states (such as California), an employer is required either to provide employees with the tools and items necessary to complete the job or to reimburse employees for these expenses. However, workstation equipment like desks and chairs is usually not included in this category of necessary items.

The advantage of providing such equipment is that employees may be happier with their work situation and might use company equipment in a safer manner than they would their own. The disadvantage is shipping costs and the potential for waste. Some employees may not want this equipment in their homes, already having their own preferred workstation.

In nearly every telework arrangement I have been involved in or analyzed, the employee provided their own workstation. The bottom line is that employees can often work wherever they prefer: a home office, their kitchen, the local coffee shop. The place an employee does their work is really up to them. In addition, OHSA has stated that they have no intention to inspect employees’ homes for workplace safety. The safety of an employee’s home workstation is their own personal responsibility.

There is one exception, however. An employee might request a device or some form of furniture as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) so they can perform the essential functions of their job. In such cases, you would consider it like any other ADA request. Providing a back support cushion or computer stand, for example, would probably not be an undue hardship, and therefore something you should do.

Question: My employee told me that he is having dizzy spells that make it impossible to do some of his job duties. What steps should I take now?

Answer: As a company with 15 or more employees, you are subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the ADA, employers must provide reasonable job accommodations for workers with disabilities unless such accommodations would impose an undue hardship on the business. When an employee makes you aware of a potential medical condition, you should begin the ADA interactive process. Simply put, the ADA interactive process is a series of conversations or communications between the employer and the employee to help the parties assess and address an employee’s need for a reasonable accommodation under the ADA in order to continue to perform the essential functions of the job.

Open a dialogue with the employee as soon as possible about what accommodations he may need. Don’t make any promises about what you can do at this point. This is an opportunity for you to collect the information you will need to decide what the company can and cannot reasonably provide. As part of the interactive process, you should:

  • Analyze the specific job position involved to determine its purpose and essential job functions;
  • Identify the employee’s precise limitations and collect supporting medical documentation; and
  • Explore the possible accommodations and assess whether those accommodations would be effective and reasonable.

For this situation, you will likely want to look into whether the duties that the employee cannot do are essential to his job. If they are, you will want to explore possible accommodations such as finding a way that he could sit to complete the tasks (if standing increases the dizziness, for example). The employee himself may have some suggestions for a reasonable accommodation.

Document your discussions with this employee and any actions that you take and why. Having records of your good faith efforts to accommodate the employee may provide you with protection should you ever be challenged in regards to your actions concerning this employee.

Ultimately, your goal under the ADA is to find a way for the disabled employee to continue to contribute to your operations while accommodating the restrictions resulting from his disability. There may be situations where the only accommodations possible would cause significant difficulty or expense for the business. In those cases, there may be no way for the employee to continue to work at your company. Any consideration of termination, however, should be reserved until after you have completed the ADA interactive process.

Question: We received an application from someone who has worked for our grocery store in the past. A few of our current employees tell me that this applicant has been in and out of the hospital lately due to severe back pain. Is this something we can ask him about during the interview?

Answer: According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), an organization may not ask an applicant about any disabilities prior to making at least a conditional offer of employment. The only disability-related question you may ask pre-hire is, “Are you able to perform the essential functions of this job?” or “Are you able to perform the job duties that I have described to you?” In order to get the most useful answer to this question, you should ensure that applicants have been informed of what the essential functions of the position are through a detailed job posting, explanation during the interview, or, as a best practice, both.

In this case, the alleged back pain may no longer be troubling the applicant or, if it’s still a problem, it may be something you can reasonably accommodate. Either way, you shouldn’t ask about it. If the applicant believes he will need an accommodation, it’s his responsibility to inform you of the disability and request an accommodation. If you were to ask about the back pain or hospital visits and then not hire the applicant, he could claim that your decision was based on his disability, or was made because you regarded him as disabled, and was therefore unlawful discrimination. Additionally, you should not solicit any further information about the applicant’s condition from your current employees – any information that would be illegal to gather from him pre-offer is also illegal to gather from other sources.If you decide to hire the applicant and extend a job offer, then you could request a medical examination or inquire about disabilities. However, you should do this only if you will be asking the same of all other employees hired into that type of position.

Question: We have an employee who is no longer physically capable of performing her job. We have tried to accommodate her by giving her extra time off and reducing her hours from full-time to part-time. Unfortunately, her condition has not improved and it’s affecting her overall job performance. We are at the point where we may need to let her go. Is there anything else we need to do?

Answer: The first thing you’ll want to do is make sure that you’ve gone through the interactive process under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and have determined whether there is a reasonable accommodation that can enable your employee to work. The ADA interactive process is a series of conversations or communications between the employer and the employee. It’s designed help the parties assess and address the employee’s need for a reasonable accommodation and ability to perform the essential functions of the job.

An employer must provide a reasonable accommodation unless it causes the employer an undue hardship. What the accommodation is and whether there might be an undue hardship is case-specific to each situation. An undue hardship defense can be challenged, though, so we recommend that all steps of the interactive process and any accommodations you make are documented internally for your records.

Please keep in mind that an unpaid leave of absence can be considered a reasonable accommodation, if it is likely to return the employee to work. Additionally, the ADA can require leaves beyond the 12 weeks required under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) as a reasonable accommodation. You don’t have to accommodate an indefinite leave of absence, however.

In the event that you haven’t involved the employee’s medical provider in determining whether there are possible reasonable accommodations, I recommend that you provide the employee with a medical inquiry form along with her job description to give to her doctor.

Once you have more information from the doctor about recommended accommodations, you will be able to evaluate whether you can provide the reasonable accommodation, suggest an alternative, or deny the requested accommodation as an undue hardship as detailed below.

The first two options above are the safest solution and should be tried first as they show good faith on the part of the employer. If the employee wants an accommodation such as an amount of leave beyond what you can reasonably provide, you may need to consider a termination based on an undue hardship claim. However, assuming a medical provider certifies your employee has a disability under the ADA, I would advise proceeding with caution if you assert that the leave is an undue hardship, and be aware that this may contain some level of risk to the employer. To be on the safe side, you may wish to have an employment attorney review your undue hardship defense.

Question: An employee of ours has gone on FMLA leave to care for a family member, and she asked us via email to tell her co-workers the reason she’s taking time off. Is this okay?

Answer: In general, when an employee is out, I recommend informing coworkers only that the employee is on a leave of absence. The reasons for the leave are not any of the coworkers’ business, and the employee might not want the reasons known by others. Moreover, sick leave, family leave, and disability laws often specifically protect this information.

In this case, since this employee has specifically asked you to inform the other employees that she will be out on a “family care” leave, and you have this request from the employee in writing, you should be fine sharing this information. In the absence of any such written request from an employee, however, I would recommend defaulting to stating only that an employee is off work on a leave of absence, letting the employee share additional information at their discretion.

Question: What happens if an employee’s FMLA time has run out, but they say they’re not able to return to work?

Answer: Even if an employee has exhausted their FMLA leave for the year, their condition may fall under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the ADA, a disabled employee is one who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities such as seeing, hearing, speaking, walking, performing manual tasks, and working. If the employee’s condition is covered by the ADA, they would be entitled to continued job protection while on a leave of absence, so long as their leave did not create an undue hardship for the company.

If the employee contacts you about needing an extension of the leave, you should engage in the ADA interactive process to determine if their condition makes them eligible for ADA leave and how much additional time they would need before returning. As part of the interactive process, you may request medical documentation supporting an accommodation request. You can then look at whether the additional leave is something you can grant without it causing an undue hardship. Be aware, however, that “undue hardship” is a high bar to pass.

You could also choose to offer additional leave to an employee even if their condition did not require coverage under the ADA (employers occasionally want to do this with top performers). But keep in mind that doing this would set a precedent for future requests, so it should be carefully considered.

Question: We have an employee who has an illness covered by the Americans with Disability Act. The employee provided us with a letter from her doctor stating that she needs to be able to work from home 2 to 3 days per week. This employee is a Team Lead and we need her to be in the office each day supervising her team. Would it be reasonable to demote her, change her to part-time status, and only pay for the hours she works in our office?

Answer: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that you engage with employees in an “interactive process” to determine what is reasonable accommodation. However, you certainly are not required to allow her to work from home in her current capacity if it such an accommodation would be unreasonable.

It is permissible to reduce an employee’s work schedule and pay to accommodate a disability. You’ll want to be more careful about a “demotion.” Can she still manage the few days a week she’s in the office? If so, you should consider whether a demotion is necessary, as it could certainly appear discriminatory.

If allowing her to work in her current capacity as a part-time employee is not feasible, a demotion may be reasonable. In that case, if she is an exempt employee currently, you should come up with a fair hourly rate of pay in line with the nature of the work that she will be performing and temporarily transfer her to a part-time, non-exempt position. Just keep in mind that if she’s non-exempt, you’ll need to pay her for all time worked, even if she’s not in the office. And she will be an overtime-eligible employee.

Before you decide what to do, you and the employee’s manager should sit down with her in an interactive process meeting. In that meeting, you can explain why working from home in her current capacity is not feasible and brainstorm other options with her. It’s important not to make any commitments in the meeting. Rather, it should be a time when both you and the employee suggest effective accommodations.

After your interactive process meeting, you should meet with her manager to discuss what options are the most viable. It’s important to consider the employee’s preferences, but this certainly isn’t the only consideration when making your decision. Do keep in mind, however, that “reasonable accommodation” under the ADA should be interpreted broadly.

Question: What to do when a job candidate mentions having a disability?

Answer: You are correct to focus on skills and qualifications during the interview process. As you noted, employees are protected from discrimination based on having a disability. This also includes having a record of a disability or simply being perceived as disabled.

It’s important not to make assumptions about a candidate’s ability to perform their job based on their having disclosed that they have a disability or other health condition. An employer can ask all candidates if they are able to perform the job either with or without accommodation; as a best practice, however, we recommend asking this on the written application rather than during the interview. If a candidate at the post-offer stage requests an accommodation to perform the essential functions of their job, then you would engage them in the interactive process to determine whether you could provide an accommodation.

In the future, you should counsel employees who conduct interviews not to solicit or document information that a candidate discloses regarding their inclusions in any protected class (e.g. disability, sexual orientation, national origin). This will help you avoid the appearance that such information was a factor in the employment decision.

Question: One of our employees says they have a “serious health condition” and need to take time off for treatment. Can you tell me what the requirements are here?

Answer: It’s likely the employee may enjoy protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This federal law applies to all public agencies and any private employer with 50 or more employees. The employee will be eligible for protected leave under this Act if the employee has worked for the Company for at least 12 months in the last seven years, has worked at least 1,250 hours for the Company during the last 12 calendar months, is employed at a worksite that has 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius and has a “serious health condition” as defined by the FMLA.

Under the FMLA, a “serious health condition” is defined as an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves inpatient care or continuing treatment by a health care provider.

The “continuing treatment” test for a serious health condition under the regulations may be met through:

  • A period of incapacity of more than three consecutive, full calendar days plus treatment by a health care provider twice,
  • A period of incapacity of more than three consecutive, full calendar days plus treatment by a health care provider once with a continuing regimen of treatment,
  • Any period of incapacity related to pregnancy or for prenatal care,
  • Any period of incapacity or treatment for a chronic serious health condition,
  • A period of incapacity for permanent or long-term conditions for which treatment may not be effective,
  • Any period of incapacity to receive multiple treatments (including recovery from those treatments) for restorative surgery, or
  • A condition which would likely result in an incapacity of more than three consecutive, full calendar days absent medical treatment.

If an employee claims a serious health condition under the requirement of a “period of incapacity of more than three consecutive, full calendar days and any subsequent treatment or period of incapacity relating to the same condition,” the employee’s first treatment visit (or only visit, if coupled with a regimen of continuing treatment) must take place within seven days of the first day of incapacity.

Additionally, if an employee asserts that the condition involves “treatment two or more times,” the two visits to a health care provider must occur within 30 days of the first day of incapacity. Finally, the regulations define “periodic visits” for treatment of a chronic serious health condition as at least twice a year.

Question: An employee injured themselves while on break and had to be taken to urgent care. Does this injury fall under workers’ compensation even though it occurred during a break?

Answer: Whenever an employee makes you aware of an injury or accident during the workday or at the workplace, your best course of action is to file a claim with your workers’ compensation carrier. Once the claim is in their system, you can work with the carrier to determine if the claim is valid. If you have concerns, you can (and should) raise them with the carrier.

Once the carrier has the claim and related information, they can analyze the issue and decide whether they want to dispute or negotiate the claim and what benefits will or will not be offered. Like you, they want to control costs, so they will be on your side as circumstances allow.

If the employee does not wish to file a claim, you should still have them complete the claim form to document the incident. You should also be sure to document that the employee declined to file for benefits.

Question: Do we have to pay for time spent at appointments related to workers’ compensation?

Answer: In general, an employer is only obligated to pay an employee if they are seeking medical attention during work time at your direction. According to Department of Labor regulations, “time spent by an employee in waiting for and receiving medical attention on the premises or at the direction of the employer during the employee’s normal working hours on days when he is working constitutes hours worked.”

In workers’ compensation cases, this requirement would typically apply to medical attention received at the time of an injury. Employers should not try to get around this requirement by having employees wait until their shift is over to seek medical attention unless it’s very clear that the issue is non-urgent and will not be exacerbated by continuing to work.

Follow-up appointments, on the other hand, do not need to be paid. Such appointments would be treated the same as other doctor appointments and may be unpaid time off for a non-exempt (overtime-eligible) employee. If the employee has time off available (e.g., PTO, sick leave, vacation), I recommend allowing them to use that time to cover the absence. If your state has sick leave, the employee must be allowed to use any accrued time for this kind of appointment.

You’ll also want to report any time away related to the injury to the workers’ compensation carrier, as the employee may be eligible for wage-loss benefits. And, remind the employee that they must keep all appointments and follow the prescribed treatment plan, or their benefits can be terminated.

Question: How Should We Respond to a Rumor That an Employee on FMLA Was Seen Exercising?

Answer: I recommend proceeding with caution so that you don’t rush to judgement. First, it sounds like the information you’ve received is only a rumor and may be unreliable. Second, exercising (at the park or elsewhere) could very well be a legitimate use of leave under FMLA. For example, their doctor may have recommended moderate exercise as part of the treatment. Before confronting the employee, I would recommend that you review the information on the employee’s medical certification for FMLA and determine whether the alleged exercise appears to be inconsistent with the information on the certification.

If it appears the exercise may be inconsistent with the medical certification, I would recommend that you investigate the situation. As with any investigation, it is important that you allow the employee to provide their side of the story before reaching any conclusions. You can let them know that you have received reports that they may be engaged in physical activities during leave and ask them to confirm the extent of their current injuries or illness and how they prevent them from doing their job. If the employee cannot or will not provide an explanation or admits fraudulent use of leave, then you’d have grounds for disciplinary action.

Question: An employee injured off the job would like to return to work, but we’re concerned about her safety and her ability to do the job. How should we proceed? We’re a small employer and not subject to the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Answer: In your case, if you have a reasonable belief, based on objective evidence (such as her own description of the injury and what it will take to recover), that the employee’s ability to perform essential job functions will be impaired by the injury or that the employee will pose a direct threat due to a medical condition, you may consider requiring a doctor’s release prior to allowing the employee to return to work. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, disability-related inquiries or medical examinations may only be made when they are “job-related and consistent with business necessity.” It’s important to ensure that you’re considering the specific job the employee has. For example, where an employee has a safety sensitive role or one that requires physical labor, there would typically be more justification in requesting a doctor’s release than where the employee sits at a desk for the entire day.

If you’ve determined that legitimate concerns about the employee’s ability to do her job exist, I would recommend that you let her know that you will need a doctor’s release for her to come back to work. You can explain your concerns about her ability to do the job and the potential for additional harm caused by her returning to work too soon.

Answers provided by:

hr expertAngela, PHR:

Angela has extensive experience in HR, conflict management and employee relations. She spent several years working as a high volume (and full cycle) recruiter for a large multi-channel retailer. Angela earned her B.A. in English Literature and Criminology from the University of South Florida. and also holds a paralegal certification from Saint Petersburg College.

hr expertsEmily, PHR

Emily joins the team with over six years of experience in HR, primarily in the healthcare and hospitality industries. She also spent a year running a non-profit. She graduated college with degrees in Music and Entrepreneurial Business, and her passion for helping and working alongside people led her to the field of HR. In her free time, Emily enjoys traveling and home brewing with her husband.

hr expertsMargaret, PHR, SHRM-CP

Margaret holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Portland State University and a Professional Certificate in Human Resources Management. She has worked in a variety of HR roles in a multi-state capacity. Margaret regularly attends seminars and other continuing education courses to stay current with new developments and changes that affect the workplace and is active in local and national Human Resources organizations.

hr expertsMonica, SPHR, SHRM-CP

Monica has held roles as an HR Generalist and Payroll and Benefits manager at a large ski resort, providing HR guidance to more than 500 employees. She also has HR experience in the healthcare field and the non-profit world. Monica holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Linfield College.

 

hr expertsKara, JD, SPHR

Kara practiced employment and bankruptcy law for five years before joining us, and was a Human Resources Generalist at an architecture and engineering firm for several years prior to that. As an attorney she worked on many wage and hour and discrimination claims in both state and federal court. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oregon State University and earned her law degree from Lewis and Clark Law School.

hr expertsOphelia, SPHR, GPHR, SHRM-SCP

Ophelia has held HR roles in the financial services, healthcare, IT, real estate, and telecommunications industries. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degree with a concentration in Human Resources from Willamette University. A member of SHRM since 2008, Ophelia currently serves as the Director of College Relations for a regional Human Resources Management Association.

hr expertsEric, SPHR, SHRM-SCP

Eric has extensive experience in HR, management, and training. He has held several senior HRpositions, including as the HR & Operations Manager for an award-winning interactive marketing agency and as HR Director for a national law firm. Eric graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Economics from the University of Oregon with a minor in Business Administration.

hr expertsRussell, SPHR, SHRM-SCP

Russell has over 13 years of union and non-union human resources experience, during 10 of which he has held regional and director level HR roles in the healthcare, hospitality, property management, and engineering industries. He holds a BA from Indiana University and is an HR Specialist honor graduate from the US Army’s Adjutant General School. Russell has been a member of SHRM since 2004 and has worked as a pro bono HR Consultant, supporting small non-profit organizations.

hr expertsRebecca, SPHR

Rebecca has a diverse background in Human Resources and Training Management from the temporary staffing and insurance industries. She has served in a variety of HR management positions, and enjoys translating complex regulatory language into “real world” scenarios, allowing her clients to quickly utilize the content in their daily activities.

hr expertSarah, PHR, SHRM-CP

Sarah has extensive Human Resources experience in the legal, software, security and property preservation industries. She has a Business Communications degree from Villa Julie College (now Stevenson University) and a master’s certificate in Human Resources Management and a Strategic Organizational Leadership certification from Villa Nova University. Sarah is also a member of the National Society of Human Resources Management and has managed the HR function for small startup companies to mid-sized/large organizations.

kyle hr expertKyle, PHR:

Kyle joined us after six years of freelance writing and editing. He has worked with book publishers, educational institutions, magazines, news and opinion websites, successful business leaders, and non-profit organizations. His book, a memoir about grief and hope, was published by Loyola Press in 2013.

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