Does Shingles classify as a serious medical condition for FMLA?

The answer is it may create a serious medical condition, but it depends. Under the FMLA, serious medical conditions are not defined by diagnosis of the condition but by the actions of the employee.

From the Department of Labor website, "Serious health condition" means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves:

(1)any period of incapacity or treatment connected with inpatient care (i.e., an overnight stay) in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility; or
(2)a period of incapacity requiring absence of more than three calendar days from work, school, or other regular daily activities that also involves continuing treatment by (or under the supervision of) a health care provider; or
(3) any period of incapacity due to pregnancy, or for prenatal care; or
(4) any period of incapacity (or treatment therefore) due to a chronic serious health condition (e.g., asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, etc.); or
(5) a period of incapacity that is permanent or long-term due to a condition for which treatment may not be effective (e.g., Alzheimer's, stroke, terminal diseases, etc.); or,
(6) any absences to receive multiple treatments (including any period of recovery therefrom) by, or on referral by, a health care provider for a condition that likely would result in incapacity of more than three consecutive days if left untreated (e.g., chemotherapy, physical therapy, dialysis, etc.).

The preceding is for informational purposes only. Consulting with an employment attorney is the only way to obtain legal advice on your situation, as it will permit the attorney to obtain full information on your situation.

posted by Justin Morocco  |  Jan 25, 2012 07:59 AM [EST]