Employer's Request Of An End Date For Intermittent Leave

**Dutchgirl2** · 07-12-2007, 01:51 PM

Hi, I am about ready to pull out my hair, because of one guy in HR. I have had 2 major spine operations in the last 9 mos, and this second one (May 22nd, 2007) my spinal cord was completely flattened. I now have severe numbness in both arms/hands and have what I call "good and bad days".

I was on FMLA last year, and the year before and this was both on "intermittent leave". I have never ever been asked or told that for the intermittent leave I would need a leave end date? My doctor seems thoroughly confused by this and keeps putting a date on there, which is not nearly long enough. He even said that when the nerves are compressed for so long it can take up to a year to heal, and now he puts on there that the leave is to end on Aug. 22nd?

I have never had a problem with it before. If it is "intermittent leave", doesn't that qualify you for the next year or until all your FMLA hours are used up? What end date is supposed to go on there if it is meant for a year?

Please help, because all of this stress is really not helping my recovery.

Thanks!

Annette, Salt Lake City, UT

**cbg** · 07-12-2007, 01:56 PM

What method of determining the 12 month period does your employer use?

How much time have you missed in the last 12 months?

It will help me explain it, to know that.

**Dutchgirl2** · 07-12-2007, 02:18 PM

They use the rolling calender method, and I re-qualified to apply on June 2nd of this year. I had to have at least 1250 hours, which I barely squeezed by with approx. 1270 hours. I just pulled my FMLA form from last year, and it does not give a date as to when I need to return to work.

Thanks!

**cbg** · 07-12-2007, 02:37 PM

Thank you, that helps. But what I'm asking is how much FMLA time you've taken in the last 12 months. Do you have that available?

**Dutchgirl2** · 07-12-2007, 02:54 PM

Oh sorry, I've taken all that was available.. a total of 480 hours.

**cbg** · 07-13-2007, 12:44 AM

Okay, thanks.

I gotta tell you, I can see your employer's side of things here. BTW, they may legally ask you to recertify as often as every 30 days - there is nothing inherently illegal about asking for an end date. You are not correct that approval is automatically until either 12 months or you run out of FMLA - the employer has a right to be kept up to date with how things are going. They're trying to run a business; they need to know what's going on with you in order to plan around you. In your case you just barely made 1,250 hours, which means you worked barely half time. You used your entire allotment of FMLA and, based on the fact that you almost didn't get the hours requirement in, I'm guessing probably more time than that as well. Thinking objectively, can you understand why they might be concerned?

If your doctor gives them an end date and it turns out that by that date you're not able to return to work full time, there's nothng wrong with the doctor sending in an an amended report. But your employer doesn't need to be as flexible as you evidently believed. No blame attached to you; this confuses even HR people.

Does this help any?