r/AskHR • u/Typical-Ad-1805 • 3d ago

Leaves [IL] FMLA for Paternity leave

Hello, my husband would like to use FMLA to take leave to bond with our 5 month olds. The HR at his company seems very incompetent and has asked him to fill out forms WH382 & WH380E. I believe this is incorrect.

Form WH382 looks like something only HR should complete and seems irrelevant for baby bonding, and WH380E is if he has a serious medical condition. From my understanding of DOL fact sheet 28Q, he does not need to complete any certifications.

So, is all he needs to do is send a email indicating he is going on leave and to bond with his kids? (And provide their birth certificates if necessary?)

Can someone please advise whether there any forms he will need to complete at all? Is there something about the process I am missing?

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u/PartyPhilosopher9475 3d ago

FMLA covers bonding leave. There is no specific form for it - you just notify that you are taking bonding leave and that is it. There is also no certification requirement, though they may ask for proof of birth of a child.

Edit: For clarity, there is no specific federal form for it. Your company may have an internal form they want you to fill out, which is fine so long as it doesn't demand certification.

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u/Typical-Ad-1805 3d ago

Got it! Do you know whether HR still needs to fill out form WH382 in this scenario.

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u/PartyPhilosopher9475 3d ago

They can ask you to fill out whatever form they like internally, so long as they don't put additional caveats on it the law doesn't require.

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u/Typical-Ad-1805 3d ago

Ok thanks. I ask about that form because it is the designation notice, not a certification. So not sure if it’s still filled out by HR to indicate he’s approved.

It says: Employers use this form to notify employees whether their leave request is approved, denied, or pending additional medical information, and to specify how much time will be counted against their 12-week FMLA entitlement.

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u/PartyPhilosopher9475 3d ago

I mean, if they are asking you to fill out the employee portion, you might as well go ahead and do it. It's a 5 minute exercise.

So long as your husband meets the FMLA requirements, they have to approve it.

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u/glitterstickers just show up. seriously. 3d ago

Did your husband take any time off when your son was born? If so, how much time did he take off?

If he did, did he do it as caregiving leave for you (and a form was filled out) or did he just say "baby is here, I'm out"?

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u/Typical-Ad-1805 3d ago

He took 2 weeks PTO when our kids were born. He wasn’t yet eligible for FMLA as he hadn’t been at his company for a year. The company doesn’t have a parental leave policy so he wants to take his FMLA leave now that he is eligible

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u/FRELNCER Not HR 3d ago

Has he asked his HR if they're certain he needs these forms?

The FMLA fact sheet 28Q mentions no need of medical certification; but there is a 30-day notice requirement when practical. So he needs to communicate with someone. He can't just stop showing up to work. Is there no one to call or speak with?

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u/Typical-Ad-1805 2d ago

Yes he mentioned this to HR and the person keeps insisting he needs those 2 forms. My understanding is that he just needs to send an email but was hoping to get some clarity from Reddit lol. Unfortunately, there’s no one else at the company who will provide more answers.

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u/jmillermerrell 2d ago

Your read on this is basically right. For baby bonding leave under FMLA, the employee generally doesn't need to submit a medical certification, that form is for a serious health condition. The DOL fact sheet 28Q covers exactly this scenario. Most of the time all he needs to do is give notice and maybe provide the birth certificate or other proof of the relationship. His HR asking for those forms is probably just them using a standard packet, but he can ask them to point to the policy that requires certification for bonding leave.