Someone get me a cigarette. The DOL has new FMLA forms

I’m about to take you on a trip to a nerd paradise: no planes, no masks, no COVID-19.

It’s just you and me in FMLA Wonk City.

Last Friday — or maybe it was Thursday; my head is still swimming — the U.S. Department of Labor announced here that it had developed optional-use Family and Medical Leave Act forms to provide required notices to employees. Plus, your employees may use them to certify that they need leave for an FMLA qualifying reason. These forms are electronically fillable PDFs — is it getting hot in here, or is it just me? — and can be saved electronically.

Want to see what they look like? Yeah, you do…

Notice Forms

Employers can use the following forms to fulfill the FMLA notice requirements.

General Notice, the FMLA poster – Hang it in the break room, post it on the intranet, or put in right in the employee handbook.
Eligibility Notice, form WH-381 – It’s how you let the employee know if s/he is eligible for FMLA leave.
Rights and Responsibilities Notice, form WH-381 (combined with the Eligibility Notice) – A great two-in-one right up there with peanut butter and jelly, it’s where you inform the employee of the specific expectations and obligations associated with the FMLA leave request and the consequences of failure to meet those obligations.
Designation Notice, form WH-382 – informs the employee whether the FMLA leave request is approved; also tells the employee the amount of leave that is designated and counted against the employee’s FMLA entitlement.

Certification Forms

How are you holding up? Can you handle some more? Here we go…

There are five DOL optional-use FMLA certification forms.

Certification of Healthcare Provider for a Serious Health Condition

Employee’s serious health condition, form WH-380-E – use when a leave request is due to the medical condition of the employee.
Family member’s serious health condition, form WH-380-F – use when a leave request is due to the medical condition of the employee’s family member.

Certification of Military Family Leave

Qualifying Exigency, form WH-384 – use when the leave request arises out of the foreign deployment of the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent.
Military Caregiver Leave of a Current Servicemember, form WH-385 – use when requesting leave to care for a family member who is a current service member with a serious injury or illness.
Military Caregiver Leave of a Veteran, form WH-385-V – use when requesting leave to care for a family member is who a covered veteran with a serious injury or illness.

So, what’s the big difference between these news forms and the ones you’ve been using already?

Jeff Nowak digs into those details in this post at FMLA Insights.

Can you still use the old DOL forms?

Yes.

Can we get crazy and modify these new forms?

Yes, but don’t go too nuts. Make sure that the modified forms contain the same basic information.

Can we use these forms for Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) leave?

Sorry, no.

When will Eric come back with a new Friday Zoom Lunchtime Happy Hour? We miss his snarky wisdom.

How about this Friday? Details to follow tomorrow.