Connecticut Administrative Code › Title 31 - Labor › 51rr - Family and Medical Leave for School Paraprofessionals › Section 31-51rr-36 - Certification, general rule (29 CFR Section 825.305)

Current through July 10, 2024
(a)
General.
An employer may require that an employee's leave to care
			 for the employee's covered family member with a serious health condition, or
			 due to the employee's own serious health condition that makes the employee
			 unable to perform one or more of the essential functions of the employee's
			 position, be supported by a certification issued by the health care provider of
			 the employee or the employee's family member. An employer may also require that
			 an employee's leave because of a qualifying exigency or to care for a covered
			 servicemember with a serious injury or illness be supported by a certification.
			 An employer must give notice of a requirement for certification each time a
			 certification is required; such notice must be written notice whenever required
			 by section
			 31-51rr-31(c) of
			 the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies. An employer's oral request to an
			 employee to furnish any subsequent certification is sufficient.
(b)
Timing.
In most cases, the
			 employer should request that an employee furnish certification at the time the
			 employee gives notice of the need for leave or within five (5) business days
			 thereafter, or, in the case of unforeseen leave, within five (5) business days
			 after the leave commences. The employer may request certification at some later
			 date if the employer later has reason to question the appropriateness of the
			 leave or its duration. The employee must provide the requested certification to
			 the employer within fifteen (15) calendar days after the employer's request,
			 unless it is not practicable under the particular circumstances to do so
			 despite the employee's diligent, good faith efforts or the employer provides
			 more than fifteen (15) calendar days to return the requested
			 certification.
(c)
Complete
			 and sufficient certification.
The employee must provide a complete and
			 sufficient certification to the employer if required by the employer in
			 accordance with sections
			 31-51rr-37,
			 31-51rr-40 and
			 31-51rr-41 of the Regulations of
			 Connecticut State Agencies. The employer shall advise an employee whenever the
			 employer finds a certification incomplete or insufficient, and shall state in
			 writing what additional information is necessary to make the certification
			 complete and sufficient. A certification is considered incomplete if the
			 employer receives a certification, but one or more of the applicable entries
			 have not been completed. A certification is considered insufficient if the
			 employer receives a complete certification, but the information provided is
			 vague, ambiguous, or non-responsive. The employer shall provide the employee
			 with seven (7) calendar days, unless not practicable under the particular
			 circumstances despite the employee's diligent good faith efforts, to cure any
			 such deficiency. If the deficiencies specified by the employer are not cured in
			 the resubmitted certification, the employer may deny the taking of FMLA leave.
			 A certification that is not returned to the employer is not considered
			 incomplete or insufficient, but constitutes a failure to provide
			 certification.
(d)
Consequences.
At the time the employer requests certification, the
			 employer shall also advise an employee of the anticipated consequences of an
			 employee's failure to provide adequate certification. If the employee fails to
			 provide the employer with a complete and sufficient certification, despite the
			 opportunity to cure the certification as provided in subsection (c) of this
			 section, or fails to provide any certification, the employer may deny the
			 taking of FMLA leave. It is the employee's responsibility either to furnish a
			 complete and sufficient certification or to furnish the health care provider
			 providing the certification with any necessary authorization from the employee
			 or the employee's family member in order for the health care provider to
			 release a complete and sufficient certification to the employer to support the
			 employee's FMLA request. This provision will apply in any case where an
			 employer requests a certification permitted by these regulations, whether it is
			 the initial certification, a recertification, a second or third opinion, or a
			 fitness for duty certificate, including any clarifications necessary to
			 determine if such certifications are authentic and sufficient.
(e)
Annual medical
			 certification.
Where the employee's need for leave due to the employee's
			 own serious health condition, or the serious health condition of the employee's
			 covered family member, lasts beyond a single leave year, the employer may
			 require the employee to provide a new medical certification in each subsequent
			 leave year. Such new medical certifications are subject to the provisions for
			 authentication and clarification set forth in section
			 31-51rr-38 of the Regulations of
			 Connecticut State Agencies, including second and third opinions.