Medical Certification

Medical Certification

You can require medical certification as a condition of granting a reasonable accommodation, a pregnancy disability leave or a transfer. You must advise the employee of all of the following:

The need to provide medical certification.
The deadline for providing the certification.
What constitutes medical certification.
The consequences for failing to provide the required certification.

Medical Certification for Reasonable Accommodation or Transfer. A medical certification for the purpose of a reasonable accommodation or transfer request is sufficient if it contains all of the following information:

A description of the requested reasonable accommodation or transfer.
A statement that describes the medical advisability of the reasonable accommodation or transfer because of pregnancy.
The date on which the need for reasonable accommodation or transfer became/will become medically advisable and the estimated duration of the reasonable accommodation or transfer.

Medical Certification for Pregnancy Disability Leave. A medical certification is sufficient for pregnancy disability leave if it states:

The employee needs to take pregnancy disability leave because she is disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition.
The date on which the employee became disabled because of pregnancy and the estimated duration of the leave.

You may not request additional information other than that listed above and must accept a medical certification if it meets the requirements stated. If additional time is requested beyond the original medical certification date, you may require recertification of a need for an extended period of reasonable accommodation, transfer or pregnancy disability leave.

Health Care Provider Defined for PDL. A health care provider is a medical or osteopathic doctor, physician, or surgeon, licensed in California or in another state or country, who directly treats or supervises the treatment of the employee’s pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical condition.
Other health care providers who can provide medical certification include the following persons when directly treating or supervising the treatment of the employee’s pregnancy, childbirth or related medical condition:

Marriage and family therapists
Acupuncturists
Nurse practitioners,
Nurse midwives and licensed midwives
Clinical psychologists
Clinical social workers
Chiropractors
Physician assistants
A health care provider from whom an employer or a group health plan’s benefits manager would accept medical certification of the existence of a health condition to substantiate a claim for benefits

Other Certification Requirements. If you require medical certification, you have two business days after the employee requests leave, transfer, or reasonable accommodation to request that the employee furnish you with a medical certification. If the leave is foreseeable — and at least 30 days’ notice has been provided — the employee must provide the medical certification before the leave begins, unless it is not practicable. If not practicable, medical certification must be provided within the time frame you give, which must be at least 15 calendar days after you make the request. If this is not practicable under the circumstances, and the employee has made a diligent, good faith effort to provide the medical certification, you should provide additional time to the employee. Additionally, if any medical certification provided by the employee is incomplete or inadequate, you must advise the employee of such, and give her a reasonable amount of time to provide sufficient medical certification.

You or the employee may choose to substitute sick, vacation, personal or family leave for unpaid pregnancy disability leave. In that case, you are limited in the medical certification requirements that may be imposed. If your sick or medical plan medical certification requirements are less stringent than the medical certification requirements for pregnancy disability leave, transfer and reasonable accommodation, you may require only the less stringent medical certification. When you advise the employee of the need for medical certification, you must also advise the employee of any consequences if she does not provide adequate medical certification. If a leave, transfer or reasonable accommodation is foreseeable and the employee has not provided sufficient medical certification, you may delay granting the employee’s request until such time as the certification is provided.

Any medical information you receive about an employee is protected by confidentiality laws and should be retained in a confidential medical file separate from the employee’s regular personnel file.