Annie was injured on the job. Let’s navigate her Workers’ Compensation, FMLA/CFRA & ADA case.
HR Professionals looking for help navigating Integrated Medical Leaves & Accommodations, can find help below with how to handle injured workers’ leaves and accommodation benefits:
How do you respond when one of your employees gets injured on the job in California?
Let’s navigate CA Workers' Compensation, FMLA/CFRA & ADA challenges TOGETHER.
In less than 5 minutes you will see how situations like this can be solved by learning from Leave Management Solutions.
It is crazy how complex handling medical leaves and accommodations has become in California. So, it is easy to understand why so many HR professionals are not that clear on how to manage these challenging situations.
Let me tell you how I helped one organization solve their challenges with Annie and avoid litigation.
Problem:
Annie was injured on the job and has been on leave for Workers’ Compensation leave. Her doctor gave her a return to work release with an on-going accommodation requiring weekly treatments by her chiropractor. Unfortunately, Annie is in constant pain and begins going to the chiropractor more frequently and is late to work on a regular and frequent basis. Annie’s supervisor applied the company’s attendance points system, and just before Annie was about to be disciplined, she informed her manager that her tardiness is related to her workers’ compensation injury. The HR Manager wants to help understand which areas they need to address and what documentation is needed?
The Solution:
First, we want to make sure that Annie is designated as FMLA/CFRA/CFRA, if eligible, for any time she takes off related to her Workers’ Compensation Injury. Since Annie has already returned to work but appears to be having continued challenges, send an FMLA/CFRA/CFRA conditional designation notification pending eligibility verification from her Medical Provider, for her Serious Health Condition. The FMLA/CFRA Certificate should cover all her time off for the Chiropractic care as well as her need to have a little extra time in the morning, so we would expect the FMLA/CFRA certificate to confirm the need for an “as needed, intermittent leave” for continued treatment, with specific estimated times off needed. This could be also be considered an accommodation under the ADA, but always apply FMLA/CFRA first for leave, then transition to the ADA when FMLA/CFRA is exhausted, if it is not an undue hardship to continue to provide an unpredictable start time. But what are you going to do about the existing attendance points?
If you knew or should have known, the ongoing late starts were a result of a protected Serious Health Condition under FMLA/CFRA, you will need to determine if you should retroactively rescind the designated attendance points that were accumulated as a result of not working with the employee sooner to determine if the late starts were related to her medical condition. Error on the side of the employee...AND… always act in good faith.
In The Trenches
By HR - For HR
The Ultimate Guide to California Integrated Medical Leaves and Accommodations
Over the last 15 years, we have had 100’s of HR professionals, consultants, benefits specialist, attorneys and even doctors to our coaching/mentoring/training sessions. PDL, FMLA/CFRA, ADA/FEHA, PFL, SDI, PFL, and Workers' Compensation as well as strategies for Handling Performance Management and related Harassment, Discrimination and Retaliation complaints from protected employees.
Julie Chendes
Human Resource Management Consultant
" Nobody can make this topic as approachable as Beth does. Beth’s advice is more practical and useful on a day-to-day basis. It’s as If you talk to a chef who gives you a recipe. Beth gives her input from her 26 years of experience in this field. She is asked by the attorneys to speak on this topic and uniquely qualified to talk on this subject. She weaves the subject with real-world stories you can relate to. "
It is not hard to avoid litigation or to handle the challenging medical leave and accommodation situations.
If you are an HR Professional and would like to get the tools and process in place to guide you through the situation click the button below to learn more about our 2-day workshops
