Employee Notice Requirements

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Employee Notice Requirements

Reference Number: MTAS-856
Reviewed Date: 09/04/2026

Employees must follow the city’s usual and customary notice and call-in procedures when requesting FMLA leave, unless unusual circumstances prevent compliance. A city may require employees to call a designated telephone number, notify a specific supervisor or leave administrator, use a designated absence-reporting system, or follow another established procedure for requesting leave.

If an employee does not follow the city’s usual notice and procedural requirements, and unusual circumstances do not justify the failure, the city may delay or deny FMLA protection for the absence. The city should apply its call-in procedures consistently to FMLA and non-FMLA absences.

Foreseeable leave
When the need for FMLA leave is foreseeable, an employee must provide at least 30 days’ notice before leave begins when practicable. If 30 days’ notice is not practicable, such as when a medical condition changes unexpectedly or an appointment is scheduled with less than 30 days’ notice, the employee must provide notice as soon as practicable. In most cases, this means the employee should notify the city either the same day the employee learns of the need for leave or the next business day.

Employees should make reasonable efforts to schedule planned medical treatment so that it does not unduly disrupt city operations, subject to the direction and approval of the health-care provider.

Unforeseeable leave
When the need for leave is not foreseeable, the employee must notify the city as soon as practicable under the particular facts and circumstances. In most cases, the employee should provide notice within the time required by the city’s normal call-in procedures.

For example, if city policy requires employees to call a designated absence-reporting number or notify a supervisor before the start of a shift, an employee requesting unforeseeable FMLA leave generally must follow that procedure unless unusual circumstances make compliance impossible or impracticable.

Unusual circumstances may include a medical emergency, hospitalization, a situation in which the employee is physically unable to communicate, or another circumstance that reasonably prevents timely compliance with the city’s normal procedure.

Notice of an FMLA-related absence
For an employee’s first absence for a possible FMLA reason, the employee does not have to say “FMLA” or use legal terminology. The employee must provide enough information for the city to reasonably determine whether the leave may be FMLA-qualifying.

For example, an employee may provide enough information by stating that the employee is:

  • Unable to work for several days because of a medical condition.
  • Being admitted to a hospital.
  • Receiving continuing treatment from a health-care provider.
  • Pregnant and unable to work because of a pregnancy-related condition.
  • Caring for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition.
  • Taking time away because of a qualifying military-family reason.

When the city has already approved or designated FMLA leave for the same qualifying reason, the employee must specifically reference either the qualifying reason or the need for FMLA leave when requesting additional leave. Simply calling in “sick,” without more information, ordinarily is not sufficient notice to trigger FMLA obligations.

The employee does not necessarily have to repeat the diagnosis or provide detailed medical information with every absence. The employee should provide enough information for the city to identify that the absence relates to the previously approved FMLA reason.

Intermittent FMLA leave
Employees taking approved intermittent or reduced-schedule FMLA leave must continue to follow the city’s usual call-in and absence-reporting procedures for each absence, unless unusual circumstances prevent compliance.

When reporting an intermittent absence, the employee should identify that the absence relates to the approved FMLA condition or qualifying reason. This allows the city to track FMLA leave accurately, avoid improperly charging the absence under an attendance policy, and determine whether medical recertification or other follow-up may be appropriate.

A city should not require an employee to provide unnecessary diagnosis information each time the employee calls in. The city may require enough information to distinguish an FMLA-related absence from a non-FMLA absence and to administer leave properly.

Cities should:

  • Maintain a written, clearly communicated call-in and leave-request procedure.
  • Identify the designated telephone number, online system, supervisor, HR representative, or leave administrator employees must contact.
  • Apply the procedure consistently to all employees.
  • Train supervisors to forward possible FMLA notices to HR promptly.
  • Document the date, time, method, and substance of each notice received.
  • Review whether an unusual circumstance prevented compliance before delaying or denying FMLA protection.
  • Ensure timekeepers and supervisors properly code approved FMLA absences.
  • Avoid counting FMLA-protected absences as attendance violations or negative performance factors.

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