{"content":[{"text":"description setting forth the essential functions becomes \n employee's leave and return-to-work requests.","bbox":{"left":0.141216,"top":0.088758,"width":0.49816400000000005,"height":0.036525}},{"text":"critical","bbox":{"left":0.649959,"top":0.088758,"width":0.052988000000000035,"height":0.019985000000000003}},{"text":"in","bbox":{"left":0.71347,"top":0.088758,"width":0.014588000000000045,"height":0.019985000000000003}},{"text":"assessing","bbox":{"left":0.738562,"top":0.088758,"width":0.08340700000000001,"height":0.019985000000000003}},{"text":"the","bbox":{"left":0.832472,"top":0.088758,"width":0.02612700000000001,"height":0.019985000000000003}},{"text":"After receiving an FMLA leave request, the employer may require the employee's health \n care provider to identify in a medical certification form the essential functions the \n employee cannot perform. Similarly, prior to the employee's return to work, the \n employer may require the health care provider to indicate whether the employee now is \n able to perform all essential job functions.","bbox":{"left":0.141216,"top":0.139843,"width":0.7174210000000001,"height":0.086652}},{"text":"When an accurate and complete job description accompanies certification and return- \n to-work forms, it helps the provider make an informed assessment of the employee's \n ability to perform the job requirements. Without correct information, the provider may \n unknowingly make erroneous assessments, impacting the determination of whether the \n employee properly qualifies for protected leave and/or whether the employee is truly \n able to return to work.","bbox":{"left":0.141216,"top":0.241056,"width":0.7177979999999999,"height":0.103356}},{"text":"Without a job description or list of essential functions provided to the health care \n provider, the only source of information for the provider to rely on is the employee's \n characterization of the work. This can prove problematic where - for whatever reason - \n the employee offers an inaccurate representation.","bbox":{"left":0.141216,"top":0.358972,"width":0.717797,"height":0.06983399999999995}},{"text":"By illustration, in Budhun v. Reading Hosp. & Med. Ctr.,5 after the employer neglected \n to provide a job description for the physician's review, the physician based the fitness- \n for-duty certification on the employee's description only and certified her to return to \n work with no restrictions. While the employee's position required her to type 60 percent \n of the time, she told her physician she could return to full duty despite wearing a splint \n on her hand.","bbox":{"left":0.141216,"top":0.443215,"width":0.717994,"height":0.10346900000000003}},{"text":"The employer questioned her ability to perform at her previous capacity, refused to allow \n her to return to work, and later sought dismissal of the suit because the employee could \n not perform an essential function of the job. But the court held the employee submitted \n sufficient evidence to show the employer did not properly follow the FMLA to restore \n her to her previous position.","bbox":{"left":0.141216,"top":0.56127,"width":0.7174699999999999,"height":0.08665199999999995}},{"text":"A key takeaway from the Budhun case is that the employer may have avoided the \n litigation and the preceding chain of events if only the employer had provided a job \n description for the physician to review at the time of certification.","bbox":{"left":0.141216,"top":0.662331,"width":0.71776,"height":0.053317999999999977}},{"text":"FLSA: The Fair Labor Standards Act","bbox":{"left":0.141216,"top":0.729979,"width":0.32329399999999997,"height":0.020028999999999963}},{"text":"The Fair Labor Standards Act and its state counterpart, the Washington Minimum Wage \n Act, provide that employees who work 40 or more hours in a workweek must be paid \n overtime at a rate of one-and-one-half times their regular rate of pay. While the FLSA \n provides broad coverage for employers of all sizes, the statute carves out exemptions \n for certain categories of workers, such as executives and certain other white-collar \n employees.","bbox":{"left":0.141216,"top":0.764641,"width":0.717744,"height":0.10331900000000005}}],"images_bbox":[],"images_bbox_not_text_overlap":[]}