I work for a municipal gov't. I had to have a small, outpatient surgery requiring about 6 inches of stitches on my neck and I had 4 days of sick leave, which I requested in advance. My employer told me I had to fill out an FMLA Certification "just in case."
When I took the form to my surgeon, he said I had to pay him $25 for the paperwork and then said I didn't need it because it was outpatient surgery. He'd basically be filling out a pre-denied certification. I called the Dept of Labor, they said it's a no-brainer that I can't get certification for FMLA if I'm not even requesting FMLA leave.
So... a week later my entire team (about 20 people) are pulled from our duties and told about FMLA and how we need to get these pre-certifications if we plan to be gone more than three days for any medical-related reason. I explained what the Dept. of Labor told me and was told that I was wrong and, also, that I was the reason they were forced to have this meeting.
I'm planning on sending off an email with links to the information on the Dept. of Labor web site, but wondered if anyone had any information on employers requiring employees to get certifications on things they don't plan on using FMLA for.
When I took the form to my surgeon, he said I had to pay him $25 for the paperwork and then said I didn't need it because it was outpatient surgery. He'd basically be filling out a pre-denied certification. I called the Dept of Labor, they said it's a no-brainer that I can't get certification for FMLA if I'm not even requesting FMLA leave.
So... a week later my entire team (about 20 people) are pulled from our duties and told about FMLA and how we need to get these pre-certifications if we plan to be gone more than three days for any medical-related reason. I explained what the Dept. of Labor told me and was told that I was wrong and, also, that I was the reason they were forced to have this meeting.
I'm planning on sending off an email with links to the information on the Dept. of Labor web site, but wondered if anyone had any information on employers requiring employees to get certifications on things they don't plan on using FMLA for.
