In previous installments of this article series, we’ve covered employers’ Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) notice obligations to employees, but what are employees’ obligations to their employers if they are taking leave?
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Employees must give a certain amount of notice that they need leave, what they need it for, when they expect it to be, and how long they expect it to last. In general, employees may provide notice of the need for FMLA leave verbally. However, you may require employees to provide written notice if that is what you require for other types of leave, and so long as you do not require that written notice at the outset of leave be detailed.
The FMLA regulations imposed more detailed requirements regarding the amount of information an employee must provide before the employer is considered to be “on notice” of the need for FMLA leave.