First of all, you should not try to make this determination on your own. Whether or not an illness qualifies as a serious health condition should be left to a healthcare provider to determine. The best course of action would be to provide the employee with a medical certification form to take to her healthcare provider. DOL has created a form, the WH-380, for this purpose. You can use this form or design one of your own. Remember, though, that you cannot ask any additional questions not contained on the DOL form. By using the WH-380 , the healthcare provider can determine whether an employee’s illness is an FMLA-qualifying serious health condition.
Note that in most cases, you must request certification at the time the employee requests FMLA leave or within two business days after the request. An employer may also request certification at a later date if the employer later has reason to question whether the leave is necessary.
