DOL Updates Q&As on COVID-19 and the FMLA

The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has updated its “COVID-19 and the Family and Medical Leave Act Questions and Answers” web page, initially published in 2020. As before, the Q&As explain that—under the FMLA—covered employers must provide eligible employees with job-protected, unpaid leave for specified family and medical reasons. Additionally, employees on FMLA leave are entitled to the continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms that were in effect before they took leave.

The updates reorient the Q&As toward employees (rather than employers), add information about employee leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), and remove a question about preventing employee abuse of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave.

The Q&A revisions also:

• Alert readers to state or federal leave requirements that might apply even when the FMLA does not;
• Update language explaining how telemedicine visits can establish a serious health condition under the FMLA and
• Affirm the employer’s ability to request a physician’s note to certify the need for FMLA.

In addition, the Q&As also expand the discussion of nondiscrimination laws employers must avoid violating during layoffs.

This Compliance Bulletin contains DOL’s Q&As.