If they have to talk to someone, they're less likely to abuse intermittent leave, she said. Some employees want to text that they will be out and not speak with anyone. Give employees something in writing about the call-in procedures, Lucht said, and require them to talk live to someone.

If supervisors adopt ad hoc policies, employers may not be allowed to enforce their written call-in procedures, she cautioned. She emphasized that the same requirements should be applied to all similarly situated employees. 'Carefully document expectations about call-in,' Lucht said. But the court ruled in favor of General Motors, deciding the company could require employees to call two lines. He sued, claiming that the employer interfered with his FMLA rights. After he failed to follow the request process and call the two lines for several absences, General Motors denied him FMLA leave and placed him on unpaid disciplinary suspension. The electrician acknowledged that he knew the process, having requested intermittent leave often due to his serious health condition. General Motors' FMLA policy required employees to notify the employer of a request for FMLA leave by calling two lines: an absence line and a benefits and services line. Texas 2016), had iron-deficiency anemia, which sometimes prevented him from performing his job. This is true even in situations involving intermittent FMLA leave and is an effective way to curb abuse, she noted.įor example, a plaintiff-electrician in Acker v. 18 at the National Employment Law Institute Employment Law Conference in Washington, D.C. Employers can require employees to follow call-in procedures to report or request absences even if the employees have been approved for Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave, said Julie Lucht, an attorney with Perkins Coie in Seattle, on Nov.

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