Keeping the lines of communication open
Question: How frequently should an employer communicate with an employee on long-term disability benefits, and what should it do if such an employee hasn’t responded to communication attempts for a while?
Answer: Employees that are off work due to a disability must remain in regular contact with their employer, and are obligated to respond to reasonable requests for information.
Obviously, every situation will be fact specific, and in some cases it will be reasonable to allow months to pass without communication. Employers should avoid harassing the employee or otherwise adding to their stress through frequent and unwarranted communications, or requests for information that is extraneous or redundant. That said, sometimes employees go on leave and then “disappear.” We often quote our clients through the situations. If we are advising the individual, we make sure they understand that they must respond to communications that are reasonable, and that failure to do so could lead to cancellation of the leave, which is a form of accommodation. That is particularly true where the individual refuses to provide medical documentation to support the ongoing leave. We also coached our employer clients on how to deal with these situations by enforcing their rights without trampling on those of the employee.
If an employee fails to respond to communications, we work with our client to provide clear and detailed warnings of the consequences of a continued failure to respond, which will culminate in the termination of the employment relationship. It is critical that the employee be given fair warning that her employment may be in jeopardy if the employer doesn’t hear from her.
