Authentication and Clarification of Medical Certifications
Employers are entitled to authenticate or clarify information received on a medical certification form. It is important to note that the definitions of what constitutes permissible authentication and clarification are very limited.
“Authentication” means providing the healthcare provider with a copy of the medical certification and requesting verification that the information contained on the certification form was completed and/or authorized by the healthcare provider who signed the document. No additional medical information may be requested. No consent is required for authentication.
“Clarification” means contacting the employee’s healthcare provider in order to understand the handwriting or to understand the meaning of the responses contained within the certification. Employers may not ask healthcare providers for additional information beyond that required by the certification form. The employee’s healthcare provider may require the employee’s consent for such clarification, and the employee must provide such consent or FMLA leave may be denied.
An employer may contact the healthcare provider for purposes of clarification and authentication of the medical certification (whether an initial certification or a recertification) after the employer has given the employee an opportunity to fix any deficiencies.
To make such contact with the employee’s healthcare provider, the employer may only use a healthcare provider, a human resources professional, a leave administrator, or a management official. Under no circumstances may the employee’s direct supervisor contact the employee’s healthcare provider.
FMLA Certs—Surely one of HR’s biggest bugaboos. It’s never easy, and employees put a different twist on it every time. Good news! Join us for an interactive webcast on Tuesday, October 1, 2013, for FMLA Certifications: How to Use Medical Evidence to Properly Designate or Deny Leave and Curb Abuse. Learn More.
Military Caregiver Leave
An employer may seek authentication and clarification of the medical certification from a healthcare provider (DOD, VA, TRICARE, or private doctor), or for an ITO or ITA (invitational travel order or invitational travel authorization) just as it would any other FMLA medical certification.
You May Follow ADA, Workers’ Compensation, and FMLA Procedures
Employers may follow procedures for requesting medical information under the ADA, paid leave, or workers’ compensation programs without violating the FMLA. Any information received under those laws or benefit programs may be used by employers in determining an employee’s entitlement to FMLA-protected leave.
You May Indicate Essential Functions
The FMLA rules provide that an employer has the option to provide a statement of the essential functions of the employee’s position for the healthcare provider to review. A sufficient medical certification must specify what functions of the employee’s position the employee is unable to perform so that the employer can determine whether the employee is unable to perform one or more essential functions of the position.
Confused by the FMLA? You’re not alone. And that’s just the basics: Experience suggests that your employees can pose some mighty perplexing situations of their own. HR managers need help; fortunately, it’s coming up soon in a BLR® webinar, FMLA Certifications: How to Use Medical Evidence to Properly Designate or Deny Leave and Curb Abuse.
Knowing how to use medical certifications systematically can help you determine who should be approved for leave and even realize when a fraudulent claim has been made. And most importantly, it can help prevent costly lawsuits.
In just 90 minutes, you’ll learn how to spot and stop FMLA abuse in the workplace. Register now for this informative event for HR professionals.
HR’s #1 headache—FMLA. Join us for an interactive webcast on Tuesday, October 1, 2013. FMLA Certifications: How to Use Medical Evidence to Properly Designate or Deny Leave and Curb Abuse. Earn 1.5 hour in HRCI Recertification Credit. Register Now
By participating in this interactive webcast, you’ll learn:
- Common misconceptions about what constitutes a “serious health condition”
- Best practices for requesting medical certifications in support of FMLA leave requests
- How long to give an employee to present a revised certification when you need clarification or additional information on a claimed condition
- Best practices for communicating with employees when they haven’t submitted timely medical certifications or the information provided is insufficient or incomplete
- Your right to request recertification of leave, how often you can exercise that right, and how far you can go when you suspect an employee of abusing the system
- When it’s a good idea to request a second—or third—medical opinion
- Tips on how to get healthcare providers to provide you with the detailed information you need to properly designate or deny leave without overstepping your bounds
- Examples of language a healthcare provider may use that indicates you don’t have an obligation to grant FMLA leave
- Questions you can ask the healthcare provider to determine if the pattern of absences matches the stated reasons for leave
- The game plan for using FMLA certifications to curb intermittent and reduced-schedule leave abuse, including the dreaded “Monday/Friday syndrome”
- When it’s generally safe to deny leave based on the medical certification you’ve received
- And more
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
1:30 p.m. (Eastern)
12:30 p.m. (Central)
11:30 p.m. (Mountain)
10:30 a.m. (Pacific)
Approved for Recertification Credit
This program has been approved for 1.5 recertification credit hours toward recertification through the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI).
Join us on Tuesday, October 1, 2013—you’ll get the in-depth FMLA Certifications: How to Use Medical Evidence to Properly Designate or Deny Leave and Curb Abusewebcast AND you’ll get all of your particular questions answered by our experts.
Train Your Entire Staff
As with all BLR HRHero® webcasts:
- Train all the staff you can fit around a conference phone.
- You can get your (and their) specific phoned-in or e-mailed questions answered in Q&A sessions that follow each segment of the presentation.
Attorney Francine Esposito has been a labor and employment practitioner for more than 20 years. As a partner with Day Pitney, she regularly represents employers before various administrative agencies, at labor arbitrations, and in employment-related litigation, and conducts harassment and other workplace investigations. Ms. Esposito also has extensive experience in designing and conducting training for employers on a wide array of employment-related topics, including but not limited to, harassment and discrimination awareness, diversity, FMLA, interviewing and hiring, wage and hour compliance, conducting internal investigations, effective documentation, effective employee relations, and union avoidance. She also regularly provides advice to employers regarding all aspects of the employment relationship.