John Zaloom quoted in SHRM article: When Fitness-for-Duty Examinations Are Allowed

Moore & Van Allen Employment and Labor Member John Zaloom quoted in the SHRM article titled, “When Fitness-for-Duty Examinations Are Allowed” which was published on April 7.  

If an employee has been out on leave for the employee's own serious health condition under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), that law lets an employer require a fitness-for-duty certification from the employee's doctor. The exam would be a condition of reinstatement, so long as the employer has a uniformly applied policy or practice that requires all similarly situated employees who take leave for such conditions to submit such certification, explained John Zaloom, an attorney with Moore & Van Allen in Raleigh, N.C. And, if the employer appropriately notifies the employee ahead of time that the certification must address the employee's ability to perform the essential job functions and lists those functions, the employer may impose that requirement, he said.

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