Your employee has gone AWOL, but you hear from a fellow colleague that she’s sick in the hospital. Should you put them on FMLA, or activate the company attendance policy?

Question:

Khloe called off sick on Monday and has not returned back. Her company has not heard from her but a fellow colleague mentioned that she was in the hospital. Should the company automatically put her on FMLA or should the company attendance policy kick in since she has technically gone AWOL?

Answer:

Since you have heard from a colleague that Khloe is in the hospital you could either send her an eligibility notice so that you conditionally start the designation process or designate her since she has spent a night in the hospital. Remember in California an employee does not have to actually spend a night in the hospital, if they are formally admitted with the expectation they will remain but are later transferred or discharged without actually staying overnight, they are still considered to be “inpatient.” The benefit of sending a conditional designation notification, instead of a designation notice, would be to determine the length of the stay and to hear directly from Khloe.  

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