What do you do when an employee has provided a medical certificate stating a chronic medical condition requiring a 20-hour/work week with a 10-pound lifting restriction, if the physician will not complete your FMLA/CFRA form?

Question:

Jeremy has an hourly employee named Charlie, who has provided a medical certificate indicating he has a chronic medical condition that requires a 20-hour/work week with a  10-pound lifting restriction. If the physician does not complete and sign FMLA/CFRA medical certification paperwork, is Charlie not eligible for FMLA/CFRA, and then does Jeremy’s company need to comply with the doctor’s medical restrictions under ADA/FEHA?

Answer:

If Jeremy can fill out the company specific FMLA/CFRA medical certificate, using the signed medical certificate he was already provided, and he is not questioning that Charlie has an eligible serious health condition based on the doctor’s medical certificate, the medical provider doesn’t need to complete a new certificate, Jeremy has the information needed to designate. 

Remember that complying with FMLA/CFRA does not comply with ADA/FEHA. If your employee is telling you they have restrictions (work hours and lifting restrictions), you, the employer will need to engage in the Interactive Process and conduct a Good Faith Meeting to determine if you can accommodate those restrictions. This applies whether it starts as an FMLA/CFRA leave for the 20 hour work week (until FMLA/CFRA is exhausted) and an accommodation under the ADA/FEHA for the lifting restriction. 

Do not ignore the medical certificate you do have because one medical provider does not understand the process and refuses to sign a FMLA/CFRA specific certificate.  Now, once FMLA/CFRA is exhausted from the reduced work week schedule, is it a reasonable accommodation request to turn a full time job to a part time 20 hour a week job? 

Get answers to these and other complex medical leave and accommodation challenges. Don’t miss this workshop! Reserve your seat TODAY for our 3 half-days livestream workshop on June 9-11.

 “The Ultimate Guide to California FMLA/CFRA, ADA/FEHA, Pregnancy (PDL), and Workers’ Compensation with Handling Related Performance Management and Harassment, Discrimination and Retaliation Complaints, w/without COVID19” Get tailored solutions to situations like this as well as your own Medical Leave and Accommodation Management challenges in this fully interactive live training, with Beth De Lima MBA, SPHR-CA, SHRM-SCP: An HR trainer, consultant and nationally recognized medical leave and accommodation management expert witness who has been workign with the ADA and FMLA since they were enacted. 

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