- The Family and Medical Leave Act requires employers (with more than 50 employees) to grant an employee with a serious health condition up to 12 weeks of leave to deal with a medical issue.
- Alternatively, the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act requires an employer to provide accommodations, which may include extended medical leave, to an employee with a disability to help them in the workplace.
- Communication. Some disability carriers provide consultants to keep the conversation between your client and their employee open and ongoing. These consultants can reach out to the employee to see how he or she is doing and gauge when they can consider returning to work.
- Assess return-to-work potential. A consultant can communicate directly with the employee’s medical team to gather information about the employee’s condition. After speaking with the employee and his or her doctor, the consultant can provide straightforward information about when the employee can get back in the office and what accommodations he or she may require. Whether that’s an extended leave or accommodations in the workplace to help reduce the employee’s symptoms and boost productivity, the consultant can relay that information and provide suggestions to your client.
- Take work off everyone’s plate. Coordinating with all parties involved while also operating within the bounds of multiple laws can be confusing and taxing for an HR manager, especially on top of their other responsibilities. Having an expert on these cases can eliminate a lot of stress and extra work for your client.
