HR Management & Compliance

Intermittent Leave Under Workers’ Comp and Disability Laws?

Neither the workers’ compensation law nor the disability laws contain specific rules for intermittent leave like the family and medical leave laws do.

As a result, employers are sometimes confused about whether an employee who either is not eligible for family and medical leave or has exhausted that leave can still take intermittent leave under workers’ comp or as a disability-related accommodation.

Unfortunately, there’s no clear answer to those questions. An employee receiving workers’ comp benefits can be cleared by his or her treating physician to return to work on a light-duty or part-time basis.


How to get the info you need to properly designate FMLA/CFRA absences—webinar next week!


Employers are generally required to return employees receiving workers’ comp benefits to work on a part-time or light-duty basis, unless doing so would pose a safety hazard. Similarly, a disabled employee may require an accommodation that involves a reduced or modified schedule.

Unless the employer can establish that providing the employee with this accommodation imposes an undue hardship on the employer, or the employer can offer a comparable accommodation that the employee’s doctor approves, the reduced or modified schedule should be allowed.

FMLA/CFRA Certifications: How to Get the Info You Need to Properly Designate Absences

Medical certification rules are designed to help you verify whether a request for leave, be it long-term or intermittent, is protected under FMLA/CFRA.

But what happens when the employee repeatedly forgets to give the certification form to his doctor, or fails to return it by the specified deadline? And what if the healthcare provider (HCP) is actually the obstacle in your path? You’ve got to get that information somehow, but the law—particularly California law—doesn’t make it easy.

Plus, there’s been a lot of buzz lately about employers’ obligations when requesting certifications in light of the final regulations on the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. Do you need to update your certification form in light of these changes?

It’s a must for you to know how to get the information you need without crossing legal boundaries.

Participate in our interactive webinar next Tuesday, February 14, and learn:

  • How to get the info you need while staying in compliance with both California and federal law
  • What to do when an employee presents a “self diagnosis”
  • How long a certification is good for and the relevance of medical absences subsequent to a diagnosis
  • Red flags that an employee is submitting incorrect or incomplete information
  • How to tell if the documentation provided to you is sufficient and complete, so you can confidently say you’ve properly designated the time off as protected leave
  • What to do when employees don’t return a completed certification by the deadline, and how long to give them to return it when their absences are unforeseeable
  • When you may authenticate or clarify a medical certification without violating rules prohibiting you from contacting the HCP directly
  • How to request re-certifications in a way that gets you the information you need when the original certification is vague, ambiguous, or unresponsive
  • Language to use when requesting medical information from employees to avoid acquiring off-limits information
  • When you may ask for second opinions, and how much information you can request on a claimed condition in those cases
  • Whether you must accept a medical certification that’s filled out by the employee and signed by the doctor
  • How Department of Labor certification rules interact with state law, and the DOL form California employers must never use
  • How failure to get completed certifications can lead to legal complications

Sign up today! Can’t make it next Tuesday? Order the CD and learn at your leisure.

Download your free copy of Notice Requirements for CFRA and FMLA: California Labor Laws today!

2 thoughts on “Intermittent Leave Under Workers’ Comp and Disability Laws?”

  1. GINA is really turning out to be quite a minefield. Who knew there were so many ways to acquire genetic information?

  2. GINA is really turning out to be quite a minefield. Who knew there were so many ways to acquire genetic information?

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