The FMLA in 2026: Employer Compliance, Intermittent Leave, and Managing Suspected Abuse

Overview:

Managing FMLA leave in 2026 is rarely as simple as approving 12 weeks of unpaid leave and waiting for the employee to return. For HR, payroll, supervisors, and business leaders, the real challenge is knowing when FMLA is triggered, how quickly the employer must respond, what documentation can be requested, how leave should be tracked, and how to handle difficult situations without creating interference, retaliation, or discrimination risk.

This becomes even more complicated when employees request intermittent leave, present incomplete medical certifications, raise mental health-related leave issues, work remotely or in a hybrid arrangement, or take leave that overlaps with workers’ compensation, ADA accommodation obligations, COBRA, pregnancy-related protections, paid sick leave, or state family and medical leave laws. Employers also have to manage the practical side of leave administration: notices, designation, recordkeeping, confidentiality, benefit continuation, return-to-work rights, and consistent communication between HR, managers, and payroll.

At the same time, employers cannot ignore patterns that suggest possible FMLA misuse. Repeated Monday or Friday absences, leave connected to denied vacation requests, inconsistent medical information, vague certification, or suspicious intermittent leave patterns can create real operational problems. But responding too aggressively, delaying leave rights, mishandling documentation, or treating protected leave as misconduct can quickly turn a management concern into a legal claim.

This webinar is designed to help employers understand both sides of the FMLA challenge: how to comply with the law and how to manage suspected abuse in a careful, documented, and defensible way. Attendees will learn how to recognize FMLA-triggering situations, understand employer notice and certification obligations, track and calculate leave properly, coordinate FMLA with other federal and state requirements, and identify red flags that may justify further review.

Join Mark Schwartz for this practical session on FMLA compliance, intermittent leave, documentation, recordkeeping, employee abuse concerns, and employer best practices for managing leave from the first request through return to work.

Areas Covered in the Session:

• FMLA Regulation Summary

• General Requirements on Leave Amounts and Qualifying Medical Conditions
• Which employees are eligible for the benefits
• Which employers are covered by the FMLA
• What notices are required by employers for employees - Posting, Eligibility, Rights and Responsibilities, Designation
• How employees certify illnesses and conditions
• Scheduling and Calculating Leave Hours - 12 month period, accrual and usage
• Where to get more information if needed

• Recordkeeping

• What information needs to be kept and available for inspection. - payroll, policies, certifications, acceptance and denial of requests
• Confidentiality requirements

• Interaction with other Federal Acts

• How and when to credit leave under each act vs FMLA
• ADA, PDA, COBRA,

• Interaction with State Requirements

• Requirements of many states that go beyond the FMLA for the benefit of employees. What categories the differences occur
• A list of acts by states

• Complying with the FMLA
• What triggers and FMLA request and actions to take
• Certification problems such as illness eligibility and length of leave
• Incomplete certification and other issues
• Intermittent Leave for Chronic Conditions, Ongoing Treatment, etc
• Qualifying mental health conditions
• Remote and Hybrid Employees

• How to Handle Employee Abuse
• The difference between fraud and abuse
• Examples of employee abuse
• Red Flags that alert employers to possible abuse
• Preventing, Identifying and Responding to abuse

Why Should You Attend?

FMLA compliance is one of the most common and difficult leave-management responsibilities for employers because the risk often begins before HR even receives a formal request. A casual comment about a medical condition, repeated absences, or a need to care for a family member can trigger employer obligations. This webinar will help attendees understand how to recognize FMLA issues early and respond with the right notices, documentation, and process.

Employers also face growing challenges with intermittent leave, mental health-related absences, remote employees, incomplete certifications, and leave that overlaps with ADA, COBRA, workers’ compensation, pregnancy-related protections, and state leave laws. Attendees will learn how to manage these situations more consistently while avoiding common mistakes in leave calculation, recordkeeping, confidentiality, and return-to-work handling.

The session will also address one of the hardest areas for HR and managers: suspected FMLA misuse. Employers need to know the difference between legitimate protected leave and patterns that may justify further review. This webinar will provide practical guidance on identifying red flags, documenting concerns, investigating carefully, and holding employees accountable without creating retaliation or interference risk.

Attendees will receive the following exclusive handouts:

1. FMLA Leave Administration Checklist: From First Notice to Return to Work

2. Managing Suspected FMLA Misuse: Red Flags, Scenarios, and Employer Response Guide

Who will benefit?

This webinar will benefit professionals responsible for approving, tracking, documenting, coordinating, or managing employee leave under the FMLA. It is especially useful for HR, payroll, compliance, and management teams that need to balance employee leave rights with operational control and abuse-prevention concerns; those include:

• HR Managers
• HR Directors
• HR Generalists
• HR Business Partners
• Leave Administrators
• Benefits Administrators
• Employee Relations Managers
• Payroll Managers
• Payroll Administrators
• Compliance Managers
• Risk Managers
• Labor Relations Managers
• Operations Managers
• Department Managers
• Supervisors
• Small Business Owners
• Office Managers
• In-House Counsel
• Employment Law Compliance Professionals
• Workers’ Compensation Coordinators
• ADA Accommodation Coordinators
• People Operations Managers