This is a hard one and I'm not sure how to move forward.  We have an employee who recently returned from an 8 week FMLA leave taken during July/August of this year.  She returned with a physician signed fit for duty form.    Her medical condition became worse and we had to place her again on leave for the remaining four weeks of the protected time so she can seek medical treatment again.  This chronic issue has been going on for a while and the symptoms of this illness are sleepiness and incontinence.  While the employee was able to return with a a signed by her physician a 'fitness for duty' form, these symptoms have not stopped and she have caused damage to property and in some cases, concern for the safety of others.    

The employee was warned previously that any more situations that caused damage or she was found sleeping during work hours would be cause for termination.  I understand that her supervisor is intending to terminate her after this protected leave ends as the program is not willing to continue her employment in this manner.  My main concern is that the employee is in denial of this medical issue.     Actually I am concerned that she is over-medicated or her cognitive abilities are affected by her illness or whatever as I don't get that she totally understands or wants to understand what is happening.  We had a previous incident prior to her leave where we were unable to locate her and had to send paramedics to her home as she had fallen and could not contact anyone for help.

 As the employer, do we have the authority to talk directly to her emergency contact about her situation or contact her doctor directly?  I think not, unless we feel she is a harm to herself.  I know we can ask for a second medical opinion at our cost, would that be a better way to go?  As I am working with her on completing the paperwork to receive state disabilty and possibly short term disabily benefits through iour insurance, I will be suggusting she contact our EAP program, but I doubt that she will make that effort.  Personally I don't think she is physically able to work on a full time basis, if at all, and would like to work with her to work with her doctor and apply for and receive SSDI on an ongoing basis.

 Any guidance? 

I think you are wanting to get involved with her situation in a manner that is risky and, sadly, not appropriate in today's employment world.  It is not your job to "fix", "inform", "cause her to face the facts" or otherwise get involved with her condition except insofar as it relates to her performance and the company's duties under any laws.  You risk violation of privacy laws, making improper medical inquiries under ADA, and whatever torts her attorney can come up with, just to name a few in 30 seconds of typing.

Your biggest concern right now should be whether or not you have any ADA obligations.

I was expecting this answer really, TXHRGuy, sometimes my heart doesn't stay in my head when it should.  Thanks,

Bucky333:

I was expecting this answer really, TXHRGuy, sometimes my heart doesn't stay in my head when it should.  Thanks,

The HR profession places us in the firing line of real problems faced by real people.  Sometimes we do our duty to our employer by keeping employer and employee separated even when it feels like the employer has a duty to do more.  After 150 years of the EE-ER relationship increasingly becoming contractual and abandoning the familiar roots of this relationship, we encounter things that feel wrong even though we know they are right given the way the world is.  This appears to be one of those cases.