Editor's Note: The DOL recently posted new, unexpired forms to its website. The new forms contain an expiration date of February 28, 2015.
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Download NowFranczek Radelet's Jeffrey Nowak suggests specific language for employers to attach to expired DOL forms for FMLA. Here's his wording for an employee or family member's serious health condition when requesting medical certification:
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) prohibits employers and other entities covered by GINA Title II from requesting or requiring genetic information of an individual or family member of the individual, except as specifically allowed by this law. To comply with this law, we are asking that you not provide any genetic information when responding to this request for medical information.
"Genetic information" as defined by GINA includes an individual's family medical history, the results of an individual's or family member's genetic tests, the fact that an individual or an individual's family member sought or received genetic services, and genetic information of a fetus carried by an individual or an individual's family member or an embryo lawfully held by an individual or family member receiving assistive reproductive services.
Other advice from Nowak:
- He recommends also attaching such a GINA notice to a fitness-for-duty certification if you request one.
- He suggests employers use the notice when requesting medical information for any other reason, such as to support an employee's request for an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
- He says it's probably a good idea to modify the existing forms regarding "exigency leave" for employees or family members in the armed services. The forms use outdated language that refers confusingly to service in a "contingency operation": This type of leave has since been clarified to include leave for a family member's call to duty in a foreign country.
- And finally, because the DOL's forms are "one size fits all," look for extraneous information that will not apply to all or even most employers, and remove it—carefully.