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Can we talk about requesting FMLA for mental health needs and if there are any specific requirements for approval for this type of leave request?

Do you have a policy requiring injured workers to be 100% healed before they can return to work? Then get ready to write a big check, either for court-ordered damages or—if your lawyer is smart—to settle a lawsuit before it reaches the courtroom.

Are there recommended strategies or scripts for re-educating employees with open FMLA intermittent leave cases on their responsibilities, especially around call-in procedures and usage restrictions?

If an employee’s FMLA certification form is incomplete or vague, you don’t have to accept it; you can deny FMLA leave.

We are an employer covered by the FMLA. We have an employee who is pregnant and understand we need to accommodate her pregnancy-related conditions that lead to tardiness or absences. Do we track these separately? Or do we track this as FMLA leave, too?

Certainly, terminating a worker after he was just approved for FMLA leave might seem suspicious and prompt a lawsuit. But if you can show a judge the employee’s poor disciplinary or performance history, courts will likely toss out the case.

We have an employee requesting FMLA leave for elective cosmetic surgery. She has the appropriate physician certification paperwork because there will be a surgery and recovery period. Is elective cosmetic surgery covered under a serious medical condition? Do we have to grant FMLA leave, or should the employee take vacation time for this?

I have an employee who is getting treatment overseas. As the employer, what, in addition to the medical certification, can we request? What if an employee receives care from a different kind of practitioner than we have in the U.S.?

HR’s best weapon against FMLA fraud is to be alert to the main symptoms and how to combat them.

Employees who take FMLA leave are protected from retaliation for doing so. That’s led to the mistaken belief among some employees that they can’t be disciplined or fired while on leave. That’s not the case—if you can show you would have disciplined or fired the worker even if she wasn’t on leave.