HR Hotline: Does FMLA Require Part-Time Work Accommodation?

Q: One of my employees is returning to work after a recent surgery, for which they used four weeks of Connecticut Family and Medical Leave. Their physician has released them back to work, limited to 30 hours per week.

My company considers this to be part-time. The employee is a white collar, exempt salaried worker who typically works 60 hours per week. We can’t accommodate their request for part-time work; we need them to return full-time. May we deny the request for reduced hours? 

A: No, because the employee is likely eligible for “reduced schedule leave” under Connecticut FMLA. That law provides eligible employees with 12 weeks of job-protected leave in a 12-month period.

Since your employee has only used four of those 12 weeks, they have have eight full weeks remaining, and may use those weeks on a reduced schedule basis. 

Connecticut regulations provide that an employee may take part-time FMLA leave in a way that reduces the employee’s usual number of working hours per work week.

This is permissible when the reduced schedule is medically necessary for the medical treatment of, or recovery from, a serious health condition. 

Reduced Schedule

If your employee’s physician has indicated that, due to their recent surgery, they can only work 30 hours per week, your employee is likely eligible for state FMLA leave on a half-time basis.

Note that, for many employees, a 30-hour work week would indeed be a return to full-time work, and FMLA leave would not be implicated.

But the amount of leave to which an employee is entitled is determined on a pro rata basis by comparing the new, medically-necessary schedule with the employee’s “normal” schedule.

Leave is determined on a pro rata basis by comparing the new, medically-necessary schedule with the employee’s “normal” schedule.

For your employee, 60 hours per week was “normal,” so 30 hours per week is half-time. During this period, you may also reduce their salary by one half, without impacting their exempt status. 

It’s important to remember that, because the employee will only be using state FMLA leave on a half-time basis, it will take them twice as long to exhaust their remaining allowance—or 16 additional weeks in total—if their physician indicates that they needs that long to recover.

Once your employee has exhausted their full FMLA allowance, if they still cannot return to regular full duty, then you may consider whether “accommodating” them is appropriate or legally required.

But that implicates an entirely different statute—the Americans with Disabilities Act—which is a topic for another HR article.

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HR problems or issues? Email or call CBIA’s Diane Mokriski at the HR Hotline (860.244.1900) | @HRHotline. The HR Hotline is a free service for CBIA member companies and is intended to provide general information and does not constitute legal advice. Please consult with legal professionals for specific guidance for your specific situation.