The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) – the federal agency responsible for enforcing the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) – has issued a new “Field Assistance Bulletin” advising enforcement staff that virtual medical appointments, otherwise known as “telemedicine,” will continue to qualify as “treatment by a health care provider” for purposes of establishing a serious health condition, notwithstanding FMLA regulations requiring at least one “in-person” visit.
Last July, WHD published “COVID-19 and the Family and Medical Leave Act Questions and Answers,” stating that telemedicine visits could qualify as in-person treatment for purposes of establishing a “serious health condition” under the FMLA, under certain circumstances. That guidance, however, was set to expire on December 31, 2020. The new Field Assistance Bulletin now makes this interpretation permanent.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.