I need some advice on a very tricky situation. The HR Manager at my company (about 240 employees) had a stroke at the end of July. This was not the first time he has had a stroke or related medical problems, but this one was pretty bad. He was in the hospital for a while, and is home now. He has gone through a lot of rehab and is gaining motor functions back, but is not 100% yet. He has not been released by his doctor to come back to work, and freely admits this fact. He is waiting to have another surgery this month and hoping to get a release by December. Formerly, this man was my boss, and I was his one and only direct report. In his absence, I was promoted to HR Manager (we waited 2 1/2 months to make this change official). The president of the company had a discussion with him to explain that I was already been taking care of all the HR duties and we would be making the change official. The employee seemed to understand and be ok with this. They discussed that when he was able to return, we would work with him and he would still be involved in some areas of HR.

 The problem is that he continues to come in to work at least once or twice a week for a short periods of time. He tends to sneak in (his office is in a building that is separate from most of the other offices-including mine) during lunch and check (and sometimes reply to) emails, but I'm not sure what else he is doing. I have received several emails from him asking about different hiring and termination events that are taking place and wanting to be involved in the process. As an example, on a recent occasion, I posted a job opening on our Intranet asking that interested applicants send a resume to me. He replied saying that the resumes should go to him instead. How do I handle a situation like this? He has not been released by his doctor, but refuses to accept that and continues trying to work (I believe he is not supposed to be driving, either, but he continues to do this as well). I know the whole situation must be very hard for him, but I'm not sure what to do.

The situation is complicated because he is my former boss and was the HR manager (and knows more about the laws than I do), so it makes me very uncomfortable. The president has told me he will handle this situation, but he is traveling for business often and is also unsure how to handle this. Anyone have any advice?

  Wow, my opinion is that senior management needs to take care of this.  With that said you should point out the fact that if he is being allowed to work without a doctors release it leaves the company wide open for medical/legal issues.  Good luck Laura

It sounds like you are in an awkward situation because you are now his supervisor!  I agree with the previous post.  You definitely need to keep your supervisor in the loop and if he said he would handle it then let him.  You may also want to consult with legal counsel if you have it available for your company.

YIKES.  I presume you all went through the necessary FMLA paperwork.  Otherwise, his FMLA would begin now and then you would have him on intermittent leave.  Can he not perform an essential job function during his recovery?  I went through a similar situation with a previous supervisor who was on maternity leave.  We all knew she was coming back at some point but having her semi-involved became very difficult to the point were we had lunch and broke it out what she would be involved in and what she wouldn't until she returned to the office. 

Human nature is to be protective of your domain.  Not to mention the shock to his ego to have to relearn basic motor functions.  I would try to be as empathetic as possible, but you have to draw a line.  Tell him that you will keep him in the loop but that he cannot insert himself until he is released to work.  Then actually do keep him informed.  Having some connection to work will probably help aid in his recovery, whether or not he actually returns to work ever. 

You have larger problems than him poking his nose into your business.  For example, the FLSA implications of him sneaking in and doing work on Company premises.  Is he being paid?  What about FMLA: has the paperwork been done and is his time being counted?  What happens if he can show that he worked on a day that was counted as FMLA leave?  Can he be returned to his former position?  If he hasn't used all 12 weeks, you don't get to simply demote him upon return.  How about ADA?  Has anybody talked about what he can and can't do with or without accomodation?

The other stuff is just some straight talk from the Pres.  Honestly, if he's doing things he really, really should not be doing like sneaking in and working off the clock, then change the locks or discipline him for working without reporting and without establishing that he is authorized to return to work by his physician.