"I Didn't Get It" – The New FMLA Hurdle?

How do you prove you complied with the FMLA's notice requirements? Two recent court decisions have complicated the answer to this question. The FMLA requires employers to provide general notice of employee rights (e.g., poster, handbook) and specific individual notice when an employee takes FMLA leave. Failure to provide the required notices could result in an "interference" claim – with concomitant damages. Without much hesitation, many employers send those FMLA individual notices by regular mail and/or email. Two recent federal court decisions have focused not on the front end of that exchange ("Did the employer send the notice?") but the back end ("Did the employee receive it?"). That is the new problem.