Labor laws

[rockcat]

Does anyone know what an employer is allowed to ask for as far as documentation for being absent? There is an employee who has had an extremely excessive amount of absenses, mostly due to things she has to do for family members. Currently, it is a number of doctor appointments she is driving her husband to. I empathize with her if she is telling the truth; however, I have reason to suspect she is not. Can I ask for proof that her husband had an appointment?

I have contacted the dept of labor, but am waiting for a response.

 

[mystik spiral]

Is this paid or unpaid time off? If she has sick time to use, and is using it, I'm not sure you can ask her for documentation. If it is unpaid, it would fall under FMLA and I believe she would have to give you documentation, but I'm not sure.

When my dad had cancer, my mom used a lot of FMLA time for driving him to appointments. I've gotta run for an appointment, but check these sites, you might find some help:

http://www.nlrb.gov/
http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/index.htm

 

[icklemiss21]

It would depend a lot on both state and employer policies, we require documentation for all paid leave (sickness/family/maternity etc) apart from the 2 weeks vacation which must be scheduled in advance as 'vacation' but employees can request unpaid days of for personal reasons in advance. The employer can say no to those days however.

 

[rockcat]

Originally Posted by Mystik Spiral

Is this paid or unpaid time off? If she has sick time to use, and is using it, I'm not sure you can ask her for documentation. If it is unpaid, it would fall under FMLA and I believe she would have to give you documentation, but I'm not sure.

When my dad had cancer, my mom used a lot of FMLA time for driving him to appointments. I've gotta run for an appointment, but check these sites, you might find some help:

http://www.nlrb.gov/
http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/index.htm

Thanks, I've been researching - even called, but was told to go to the DOL site where I found a way to email my question. I imagine that since it's a government site, they'll get right back to me, right?

Although she's not entitled to FMLA benefits because this business is so small, I wouldn't begrudge her time off if it were truly necessary. She has more reasons to be out in the last 10 months than I have in my whole work history. I'm 50 and have worked steady since I was 16. Any of her issues would be a good reason to be out, but combined, it is hard to believe they are all true...kinda like the boy who cried wolf.

She does not have sick time to use because she is part time. I was nice and let her use vacation days in the past.

 

[rockcat]

Originally Posted by icklemiss21

It would depend a lot on both state and employer policies, we require documentation for all paid leave (sickness/family/maternity etc) apart from the 2 weeks vacation which must be scheduled in advance as 'vacation' but employees can request unpaid days of for personal reasons in advance. The employer can say no to those days however.

There is never advance notice. She has a lot of emergencies.

Let me clarify a little. I know I can request a doctor's excuse if she were sick. I need to know what I can request if her husband is sick. Can I request a repair bill if she couldn't make it to work because of car trouble? What would constitute invasion of privacy?

 

[mystik spiral]

I used to work in HR many years ago, but I'm a little rusty. If she has missed so much time from work, I believe you have every right to ask her for doctor's notes that say it was necessary for her to transport her husband, car repair receipts, etc. But I'm not 100% sure on the law. People who take FMLA leave have to have documentation, so I don't know why she wouldn't, even if she's not eligible for FMLA. Hopefully the DOL will get back to you - they should.

I'm not sure how big your company is, but do you have an employee handbook of any sort? If not, you might want to develop at least a policy on absenteeism. I don't think it's illegal for you to ask her for documentation for her absences, and to give a warning (possibly termination) if she continues to miss work.

I used to manage a handful of employees, and I had one who seemed to have some crisis like that every other day. We ended up terminating her. I don't know if you'd go to that extreme, but if you have to, make sure you document everything. If her being absent is to the detriment of the company, and she is not eligible for FMLA, she's lucky she still has a job, IMO.

Sorry I can't give you a 100% answer... I tried googling a few things and couldn't find any laws regarding excessive absenteeism in small business.

 

[rockcat]

Originally Posted by Mystik Spiral

I used to work in HR many years ago, but I'm a little rusty. If she has missed so much time from work, I believe you have every right to ask her for doctor's notes that say it was necessary for her to transport her husband, car repair receipts, etc. But I'm not 100% sure on the law. People who take FMLA leave have to have documentation, so I don't know why she wouldn't, even if she's not eligible for FMLA. Hopefully the DOL will get back to you - they should.

I'm not sure how big your company is, but do you have an employee handbook of any sort? If not, you might want to develop at least a policy on absenteeism. I don't think it's illegal for you to ask her for documentation for her absences, and to give a warning (possibly termination) if she continues to miss work.

I used to manage a handful of employees, and I had one who seemed to have some crisis like that every other day. We ended up terminating her. I don't know if you'd go to that extreme, but if you have to, make sure you document everything. If her being absent is to the detriment of the company, and she is not eligible for FMLA, she's lucky she still has a job, IMO.

Sorry I can't give you a 100% answer... I tried googling a few things and couldn't find any laws regarding excessive absenteeism in small business.

I appreciate your help. I don't want to terminate her, but I might have to. She does a good job when she's here. She has been warned multiple times, verbally and in writing.

 

[catkiki]

Where I work, we have a very strict attendance policy. You can be absent for up to 31 hrs 59 min in a 6 month rolling period. If you reach 32 hrs, you are put on a verbal step 1. It goes from there to written warning, final warning then termination. I have known people who were terminated because of attendance. Right now I am at 24 hrs. I have days rolling off in June, July and August.

What is nice is when I had a bad case of the flu and had to be out for 2 days, it only counted as 8 hrs instead of 16. And when I had to be off for 2 weeks because of illness, it was counted as LOA. I was lucky that I had over 100 of sick leave built up, so I didn't have to file for state disability for those 2 weeks.

If it occurring on a regular basis, you should be able to ask for documentation.

 

[rockcat]

Originally Posted by Catkiki

Where I work, we have a very strict attendance policy. You can be absent for up to 31 hrs 59 min in a 6 month rolling period. If you reach 32 hrs, you are put on a verbal step 1. It goes from there to written warning, final warning then termination. I have known people who were terminated because of attendance. Right now I am at 24 hrs. I have days rolling off in June, July and August.

What is nice is when I had a bad case of the flu and had to be out for 2 days, it only counted as 8 hrs instead of 16. And when I had to be off for 2 weeks because of illness, it was counted as LOA. I was lucky that I had over 100 of sick leave built up, so I didn't have to file for state disability for those 2 weeks.

If it occurring on a regular basis, you should be able to ask for documentation.

Sounds like a good policy. I told her this morning that moving forward I am requiring proof that she needs to be out even if she has to take a picture with a time stamp standing in a hospital room.

I still haven't heard back from the Department of Labor (DOL). The email I received back from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) didn't address the questions I asked.
Here's my inquiry:

Can an employer demand documentation for unpaid time off to take care of a
family member? What kind of documentation is acceptable and what is not? The
company has less than 20 employees. Thank you.

The reason I mentioned that the company has less than 20 employees is so they would know that the FMLA does not apply (there must be at least 50).

Here's their response:

Thank you for your inquiry to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Wage, hour, overtime, work breaks (including lunch), Family and Medical Leave
Act (FMLA) (www.dol.gov/whd/fmla), and compensatory time issues are handled by
the Department of Labor (DOL) (www.dol.gov ). The link to find an outline of
the types of activities for which employees must be paid is
(www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs22.pdf ). There may be a law in the state
where you work that governs these issues. To find out about this, you can
contact your State Department of Labor by clicking here
www.dol.gov/whd/contacts/state_of.htm and click on the state in which you work.
A customer service representative will answer your questions or direct you to
the correct office/division.

If I click on the suggested site to find my state laws, it takes me to State of Florida, Agency for Workforce Innovation. I don't see anything about state labor laws.

So much for trying to be compliant.

 

[icklemiss21]

My BF's parents have a company in Tampa, I sent them an email asking if they know