Q. Do employers have a right to object if physicians substitute a simple one-page Family and Medical Leave Act form for the confusing 10-page form that many companies demand that doctors submit? So many of us health-care providers are being inundated with these forms, and patients suffer if the paperwork isn’t completed in a timely manner.
A. Your headache probably stems from overzealous companies that want to document whether an employee qualifies for time off under the FMLA. That act grants up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to qualifying workers for personal or family illnesses. The standard government form, WH-380, is just several pages long. But almost any form is acceptable as long it provides the necessary information the FMLA requires.
Some companies ask for more information than others. That is acceptable as long as they do not ask for more information than the FMLA requires If you feel an employer is using the heftier forms to skirt the law, call the U.S. Labor Department at 866-487-2365. Otherwise, put together a packet you can send to paper-happy bosses showing them how they can save time and money on FMLA requests.
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Carrie Mason-Draffen is a columnist for Newsday, a Tribune Co. newspaper.
