The U.S. Department of Labor has released new Family Medical Leave Act forms that are designed to simplify the process for employers. Many of the responses are now checkboxes as opposed to written answers and can be filled out online.
The new Rights and Responsibilities notice, found here, advises employees of the responsibilities they take on as a result of taking FMLA leave. The Eligibility Notice, found here, indicates the various reasons why an employee is or is not eligible for FMLA leave. The employer uses the Designation Notice, found here, to inform employees whether or not their leave was approved and the duration of their leave.
In addition to the forms for employers, there are two newly designed forms for healthcare providers to use when they are establishing the presence of a serious health condition for FMLA purposes. The form used for demonstrating that an employee has a serious health condition can be found here; the form used for indicating that a family member of an employee has a serious health condition can be found here.
Employers and employees are still free to use the older forms if they choose.