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What is meant by “medical certification?”

Medical certification is a form completed by the employee’s health care provider or the family member’s health care provider. It should provide information to the health care provider about what constitutes a valid leave under FMLA/CFRA, and the health care provider certifies that one or more of the qualifying reasons exist.

The employee is responsible for obtaining proper medical certification of the need for leave and giving that information to the employer in a timely manner (usually 15 calendar days from the date leave is requested).

Read more about Certification for Family and Medical Leave in the HR Library.

Q&As

Do all 12 weeks of medical leave under FMLA/CFRA have to be taken at once?
Does CFRA child bonding leave begin immediately after the baby is born or after PDL ends?
Are we required to allow an employee to use their child bonding leave by taking every Friday off for the next 12 weeks?
Is a chiropractor considered a health care provider for medical leave certification purposes?
If another company acquired our company last month, can my employee still take FMLA/CFRA for her pregnancy and child bonding?
Is the company required to notify employees when FMLA and/or CFRA periods have ended?
Do we have to continue benefits accrual during FMLA leave?
How do I count the 12 months needed to qualify for CFRA for a seasonal-turned-regular employee who’s met the 1,250-hours of work requirement?
Can we deny child bonding leave if our employee has not worked for our company for one year?
Can we deny child bonding leave to a father who is not married?
Does elective surgery qualify for CFRA/FMLA leave?
Is an employee eligible for CFRA or FMLA leave to care for a pregnant daughter?
Must I consider an employee request for a flexible working schedule because of elder care obligations?
Can my employee use CFRA or FMLA to care for her adult, drug-addicted son, who refuses to go through a rehabilitation program?
If an employee on FMLA/CFRA does not turn in the required medical certification on time, can the company deny their leave and terminate them?
Is an employee in the process of adopting a child eligible for Paid Family Leave (PFL)?
If an employee requests an absence to be designated as FMLA/CFRA retroactively, do I have to do so?
Is the employee’s eligibility for FMLA/CFRA based on the current or preceding year?
Which employees are eligible for family and medical leave?
Do I have to grant my employee time off for cosmetic surgery and hold their job?
What happens if an employee wants to take time off with the baby just after pregnancy disability leave?
Are we required to provide members of the same family with leave at the same time to care for an ill parent? What happens if the parent dies?
Can we encourage an employee to take family leave at another time because their chosen time is inconvenient for us?
Can employees file for leave under the CFRA or FMLA for depression and anxiety/stress claims?
Do FMLA/CFRA laws apply to temporary employees?
Can an employee take 12 weeks of FMLA for foster care placement and then another 12 weeks of FMLA if they adopt the child?
How do we count a holiday when tracking CFRA/FMLA?
Can we lay off an employee who is currently on FMLA leave?
Do I have to provide all new parents with child bonding time off?
Does military caregiver leave apply if a military spouse is injured but not while in the line of duty on active duty?
Do I have to grant an employee time off to care for a neighbor?
If both parents of a newborn are employed by the same company, are we required to give both of them child bonding leave?
Do I have to pay an employee while they're on child bonding leave?
How do I determine if a remote or out-of-state employee qualifies for FMLA leave under the worksite requirement?
Are we required to change an employee’s schedule to part-time during her child bonding leave?
Can I require an employee to provide an FMLA/CFRA recertification if her original certification noted her condition was lifelong?
Can I require written documentation from a doctor for family and medical leave?
Can we transfer an employee to a different position if they need to take intermittent FMLA/CFRA leave for medical treatments?
If my employee used all their sick leave but still calls out sick and returns with a doctor’s note, can I discipline them for missing too much work?
Are we required to provide an employee, who used FMLA/CFRA time last year to care for their mom, more leave time to care for their grandchild?
If our employee has used up all their family/medical leave and requests an extension, do we have to grant it, or can we terminate employment?