FMLA Recertification: Best Practices for HR Teams

Eligible employees who work for covered employers can take up to 12 weeks of leave per year under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Although it isn’t mandatory, employers may request a medical certification to verify an employee’s leave request. They can even request a second or third opinion to obtain sufficient certification.

But what happens if the qualifying reason for leave changes or the employee requests an extension to their leave? How often can you request FMLA certification?

Here’s what employers need to know about FMLA recertification and how to navigate the certification process while respecting your employees’ FMLA rights.

What Is FMLA Recertification?

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitles employees to 12 weeks of leave in a 12-month period for certain qualifying reasons, including but not limited to:

• The birth or adoption of a child
• A family member’s serious health condition
• The employee’s own serious health condition
• A qualifying exigency or military caregiver leave

When an employee requests FMLA leave for a medical reason, they may be asked to provide a medical certification from a health care provider, which verifies:

• The reason for leave
• The expected duration of leave
• Whether or not they can perform the essential functions of their job

FMLA Certification Forms

Although the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) provides FMLA certification forms (PDF) that employers can use, they are optional, and you can request the information in any format — including digital forms that employees can fill out online.

Here are just a few of the official DOL forms:

• Employee’s Serious Health Condition
• Family Member’s Serious Health Condition
• Military Caregiver Leave of a Current Service member

You can’t require a certification to take parental leave, although a medical certification would apply for conditions that arise during pregnancy.

How Often Can You Request Recertification?

When an employer requests additional information about an employee’s absence, the employee has 15 calendar days to provide it. But how long does an FMLA certification last, and how often do you need to re-establish their eligibility for leave?

That depends on the medical condition covered by the initial certification, and whether or not the employee needs an extension of leave. Here are three situations in which an employee may need to recertify their leave.

When It’s Been 30 Days

Under FMLA regulations, employers can ask for FMLA recertification no more than once every 30 days. Employees have 15 days to provide the requested certification or they may no longer qualify for FMLA protections.

The 30-day rule only applies in relation to an employee’s absence; you can’t request a recertification when an employee is not on FMLA leave.

The certification process is the same for intermittent leave, although the employer can request a recertification at least every six months.

When the Certification Period Ends

In some cases, the original certification will specify a leave period that’s longer than 30 days. For example, maybe the employee needs 45 days to recover from a surgery or will require intermittent FMLA leave for several months.

If that’s the case, the employer must wait until the initial certification period ends before asking the employee to provide a FMLA recertification. In all cases, the employer can request recertification after six months have passed.

When the FMLA-Qualifying Reason Changes

If an employee requests leave for a different medical condition or the nature of their absence has changed — such as moving from continuous leave to a reduced work schedule — the employer can request FMLA recertification.

Although you should always assume good faith, a pattern of absences that doesn’t match the employee’s original certification could be an indication of FMLA abuse.

Can You Request a Second Opinion?

Sometimes the information provided in a FMLA certification isn’t sufficient, or you have doubts about an employee’s eligibility for leave. You can request a second opinion at your own expense and even a third opinion if there’s still a discrepancy.

Your leave administrator or human resources team can contact the health care provider to confirm that the certification is accurate or to clarify information on it, but not to ask additional questions about an employee’s medical condition.

In some cases, the health care provider may be from another country — because the employee became ill while traveling or their family member resides there. You should still accept this certification, but you can ask for it to be translated into English.

3 Best Practices for FMLA Recertification

FMLA recertification is an important part of the leave of absence management process, but it can involve some extra work for your human resources team. Follow these best practices to streamline the process, respect your employees’ time, and comply with regulations like FMLA and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

1. Use Standardized Forms and Processes

The most important thing when handling FMLA certifications (and recertifications) is to keep the process consistent. You can use the forms provided by the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) or create your own forms requesting the same information.

When you use a leave of absence automation platform like Pulpstream, you can save time by digitizing the certification process. Pre-fill forms with information you already have, and allow employees to fill out forms online and sign documents digitally.

2. Keep Medical Documents Confidential

If you look at the official FMLA forms provided by the WHD, you’ll notice that they don’t ask for detailed medical information. As an employer, you may need to know the type of care required and the expected duration of leave, but you don’t need to know the exact treatment an employee is receiving or the nature of their incapacity.

FMLA has strict confidentiality requirements limiting what you can ask and what you can do with that information. You’ll need to store it separately from other files — such as in a cloud-based document management platform like Pulpstream — and avoid sharing the details of an employee’s condition with other employees.

3. Follow the Return-to-Work Process

When an employee is ready to return to work, you can ask them for a fitness-for-duty certification. Just like an FMLA recertification form, a fitness-for-duty certification contains basic information about an employee’s condition and ability to perform the essential functions of their job.

The employee’s health care provider might recommend temporary work restrictions, such as light duty, if they still need time to recover. If an employee’s impairment is permanent, they may be eligible for accommodation under the ADA.

Streamline FMLA Recertification With Pulpstream

FMLA certifications and recertifications play an important role in the leave of absence process. They confirm an employee’s eligibility for leave and maintain a paper trail to show that you’ve done your due diligence as an employer. You can request a FMLA recertification every 30 days, or every six months in the case of intermittent leave.

Pulpstream simplifies the recertification process with digital FMLA forms and built-in certification tracking, so you always know when a certificate is about to expire. Use it to generate leave documents automatically and send out notifications via email and SMS to remind an employee when their next FMLA recertification is due.

Plus, you can use Pulpstream for the ADA and return-to-work process, giving you a comprehensive, all-in-one platform to manage leave from start to finish.

Pulpstream transforms leave management from an eight-hour process into a 15-minute workflow. Request a demo today to see how it’s done!