Seems like you might be okay from the basic information given. However, I wonder if, when she could not come back to work, did anyone have a conversation with her that she told you she couldn't come back or then someone communicated to her the steps? Hopefully, when she left, she had read/signed/been given a policy regarding FMLA and all that good stuff. These are a few basics, but if you have done the above, then you should be okay. This doesn't mean she can't go ahead and get a lawyer, but my experience has been it usually gets arbitrated and if you have done all you were supposed to, then the employer has come out okay. You don't mention if she had any leave outstanding that she may have been entitled to use or that you could accomodate the partial return to work either. Timing of conversations and when the doctor actually got the time to write the note might play into the situation here too...and if she tried to contact her supervisor and the supervisor didn't know how to act and that delayed her official notification too. This is not an easy area to administer...may employers fall short in what they really should do, but believe me, some employees know the laws better than the payroll or hr department does! You should begin get all of your documentation and story together....consult an attorney just in case if you don't have one on staff....Good Luck. ----- To UNSUBSCRIBE to this list, send an email to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. Put this phrase in the subject line: "unsubscribe payroll-taxes-list"
