Tomorrow, January 16, is FMLA Day – the day the new FMLA regulations take effect. If a business is covered by the FMLA (it employs 50 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year), there are certain steps it should be taking to get ready for the changes.
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Post the Revised FMLA Poster.
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Distribute a revised FMLA Policy or make appropriate handbook amendments.
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Take out of circulation old FMLA forms (Employer Response to Employee Request for FMLA Leave and Certification of Health Care Provider, for example), which are no longer legal to use.
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Put into use the new form to notify employees of their FMLA eligibility, to be used within five business days of an employee’s request for FMLA leave or the employer’s other notice of the need for leave.
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Put into use the two new medical certification forms, one for an employee’s own serious health condition, and the other for an employee’s family member’s serious health condition.
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Put into use the new FMLA designation notice, which must be given to an employee within five business days after an employer has received sufficient information to determine whether an employee’s leave is covered by the FMLA.
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Make sure that the appropriate forms are being used for military family leave – one for the certification of qualifying exigency and one the certification for a serious injury or illness of a covered servicemember.
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Train all HR personnel, managers, and supervisors on the mechanics of the new FMLA regulations.
For more information on the key FMLA changes, you can review these earlier posts: