Some eagle-eyed employers may have noticed the Department of Labor’s model FMLA forms expired on Friday, June 1, 2018. This is because the DOL is required under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 to submit its FMLA forms to the Office of Management and Budget every three years for approval. The last round of approvals occurred in 2015 and were effective through May 31, 2018—hence the current expiration of the model FMLA forms.

There is no need to panic, though. In April, DOL submitted the FMLA forms to OMB requesting a 3-year extension without any proposed changes. Though OMB has not yet approved the forms, it will automatically extend the deadline on the forms on a month-by-month basis until approval is granted. The DOL should update the date on the forms to reflect the monthly extensions. The FMLA forms therefore remain viable under the automatic extension, and likely will be approved as-is by the OMB for another three years. Employers and practitioners should continue to use the model forms during this renewal process, and keep an eye out for the approved forms.

The FMLA forms are available online at the DOL’s website.

For those wanting to keep tract of the OMB’s approval process, check on the OMB’s “conclusion action” at its website.

Please contact us if you have any questions.