In order to take a medical leave under the federal Family Medical Leave Act, many employers in New Jersey may require employees to submit a doctor’s note or certification from their health care provider. While policies like this are generally legal, there are some limits to the information an employer can demand. For example, in cases of intermittent leave, an employer cannot require a doctor’s note for every single absence after the intermittent leave is approved.

An intermittent FMLA leave is requested when an employee does not need to take all 12 weeks of FMLA leave at once, but rather needs time off occasionally due to a medical condition or that of a spouse or child. This part of the FMLA was recently illustrated by a case here in New Jersey.

A police officer in Burlington, New Jersey, challenged the county after he was disciplined for taking approved intermittent family leave in 2010. A judge ultimately ruled in his favor.

The longtime employee of the county requested an intermittent family leave in January 2010, under both the FMLA and the New Jersey Family Leave Act, in order to care for his son, who had been diagnosed with sickle-cell disease.

He provided certification from his son’s medical provider and the leave was approved. In later months, however, when he began taking days off to care for his son he was disciplined for not turning in a doctor’s note related to the exact days off.

The police officer and his union filed grievances, saying that the county was in violation of the union’s collective bargaining agreement as well as state and federal family leave laws. An arbitrator initially agreed with the county, deciding it was within its rights to require employees to submit doctor’s notes for all sick leave.

However, the Superior Court of New Jersey ultimately ruled in favor of the police officer. The court noted in its decision that requiring a doctor’s note for each instance related to an approved intermittent family leave violates a worker’s FMLA rights.

When workers here in New Jersey feel that their medical or family leave rights have been violated, they may benefit from discussing their case with an employment law attorney.

Source: HR.BLR.com, “Did NJ employer interfere with intermittent family leave rights?” May 8, 2013