Legal Question in Medical Leave in Ohio

Employeer puts me on FML without my request to do so

Is your employeer allowed to put you on a family medical leave without you asking to go on one?

Went to doctor, gave me a doctor's excuse to

be off of work (ten days) due to illness. Gave excuse to my employeer,was at home on this two week excuse,employeer sent me letter stating that I was put on family sick leave, concurrent with sick days I had, that I needed to submit to them, doctor's excuse stating I had serious, life threatening illness causing me not to work!Was shocked, I had not requested a family sick leave, I work for a school system, had plenty of sick days to cover this , was not planning on being off for a long period of time. Felt very intimidated, felt this was inapprpriate on their part to send me this letter. I thought that you had to request a family medical leave if you wanted one, not the employee taking it upon themselves to put you on one, than sending you a letter, that they needed proof that your had a life threatening, serious condition to be off of work, especially when I already gave them an excuse from a doctor to be off of work for the two weeks!


Asked on 2/06/07, 6:31 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Eileen Joyce Baughman & Joyce LLC

Re: Employeer puts me on FML without my request to do so

If you are off work due to a �serious medical condition� (it does not need to be �life threatening�), the employer can designate your leave as FMLA leave even if you do not invoke the FMLA. The employer can also require that your accrued sick leave and FMLA leave run concurrently. The employer cannot, however, require you to take more leave than is necessary. If the employer requires you to be off work longer than is necessary for the reason you took leave, it is a violation of the FMLA. The employer can, however, require that you obtain a return to work authorization from your health care provider before allowing you to return to work.

Additionally, the employer can require a medical certification that supports the need for leave.

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Answered on 2/11/07, 9:45 am


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