Nov. 1, 2008

Employee Benefit News

Benefits Pros Offer Their Peers Advice on Combating FMLA Abuse

Most HR professionals have seen it before:  the person who always uses FMLA to take leave on Fridays to get a head start on a summer weekend, or the worker whose back pain shows up every time he has tickets to a college football game.

Employers want to stop the few who are taking illegitimate leave because it hurts the company’s bottom line, employee morale and productivity. About 10 to 12 percent of people who take FMLA are not doing it legitimately, according to Jim Brown, senior vice president of FMLASource, an affiliate of ComPsych.

Brown says recertification of FMLA paperwork, though time consuming, is more effective than second opinions in identifying and stopping abuse. Employers can ask for a recertification any time there is a change in circumstances or they suspect abuse. This could be as often as every 30 days, Brown says.