How to File for Kroger FMLA

Kroger FMLA is there when you need it the most. Let DoNotPay help you file for it!

Kroger is a well-known name in the grocery industry. Their 2,800 stores throughout the country are known as Kroger, King Soopers, Smith's Food and Drug, Ralphs, City Market, Baker's, Food 4 Less, Fred Meyer, Fry's, Gerbes, Jay C Food Store, Mariano's, Metro Market, Pay-Less Super Markets, Pick'n Save, QFC, and Ruler. Almost 500,000 people work for Kroger, and the company continues to grow each year.

When you work for Kroger, you get some pretty good benefits. When a member of your family is sick and needs you, taking time off with FMLA can give you the time you need to take care of them. FMLA is also good if you are sick yourself and have used up all of your sick days. To take advantage of this benefit, you have to file for it.

What is FMLA?

FMLA stands for the Family and Medical Leave Act.

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 allows you to take leave from your job without losing your job. With FMLA, you can take the following time off within a 12-month time frame without losing your benefits. It allows you to take:

• Twelve workweeks of leave each year for the birth of a child and to care for your newborn,
• Twelve workweeks of leave for foster care or adoption placement to care for the child within the first year.
• Twelve workweeks to care for your spouse, parent, or child who has developed a serious health condition,
• Twelve workweeks to extend your sick time for your own serious health condition makes it so that you are unable to perform your job.
• Twelve workweeks for any emergency related to the fact that a spouse, child, or parent is on active duty in the military
• Twenty-six workweeks per year to care for a spouse, parent, or child who is a service member. This is known as military caregiver leave.

The FMLA makes it unlawful for any employer to deny you the right to take FMLA leave. Your employer cannot discriminate against you for taking FMLA leave, nor can they fire you for it.

Can I Get Paid on FMLA?

Unfortunately, FMLA is always unpaid leave.

You may need to use any paid sick or vacation time you have accrued as part of your leave time. An additional requirement of FMLA is that you get to keep benefits from your job such as healthcare. These are benefits that are normally deducted from your paycheck, and to keep your benefits, you will have to pay your employer the amount usually withheld for that purpose.

Check out DoNotPay's state guides about FMLA:

How Do I Apply for FMLA?

You will need to give your employer a minimum of 30-days’ notice as well as provide the documentation proving the validity of your claim.

You will need to have your doctor complete an FMLA Medical Certification Form that ensures that the health condition of you or your family member is a valid health condition. Once you receive this form, you will have 15 days to submit it to the Kroger HR department.

Medical Conditions Covered by FMLA

To qualify for FMLA, there needs to be a serious health condition involved.

A serious health condition is defined as one that causes one to miss work for an injury or illness for more than three days, any continuing treatment related to the illness with at least two treatments within a 30-day time period. The following conditions comply:

• Inpatient hospitalization of at least an overnight stay as well as the period of the time it takes you to heal from the condition you or your family member is hospitalized for.
• Incapacity for more than three days due to continuing treatment for an illness or injury.
• Pregnancy or prenatal care incapacity includes time off for prenatal doctor appointments, or morning sickness, and fatigue that results from the pregnancy.
• Chronic, serious health conditions require periodic treatment for what is called episodic incapacity. This includes conditions such as asthma, diabetes, or seizure disorders such as epilepsy.
• Permanent or long-term incapacity where treatments may have not been successful or have not been effective enough to allow the employee to return to work,
• Conditions that require multiple treatments such as cancer that requires chemotherapy or accidents that require reconstructive surgery or rehabilitation.

How to Apply for FMLA on Your Own?

To apply for FMLA on your own, you need to take the following steps:

1. Contact your HR representative and request an application for FMLA.
2. Wait to receive FMLA application
3. Go to your physician and ask for a completed FMLA Medical Certification Form.
4. Wait for the completed Medical Certification Form.
5. Notify your supervisor that you will be taking FMLA.
6. Start using up your paid vacation, paid sick days, paid personal days until they are exhausted.
7. Upon receipt of the Medical Certification Form, deliver it to the employer.
8. If it has been longer than 15 days since the doctor signed it, go back to the doctor and request a new one.
9. Explain to HR and your boss what your status is.
10. Upon receipt of the timely medical certification, deliver it to your boss.
11. Rest, get well or take care of your family member.
12. Keep open communications during your time off to preserve your job.
13. Make regular payments to your employer for your continued health insurance.

Sound confusing? It definitely can be. You might prefer to go to DoNotPay instead.

Next Steps For Requesting FMLA From Kroger

If you are having trouble getting all the steps completed on your own, consider some alternatives.

You can attempt to have your physician's office call your supervisor and explain your situation stating that you need to be out on Kroger FMLA leave.

Or, you could try getting help from DoNotPay.

Requesting FMLA Leave From Kroger With the Help of DoNotPay

If you want to request parental leave but don't know where to start, DoNotPay has you covered in 6 easy steps:

1. Tell us which state you work in (if you work in CA, NY, NJ, MA, WA, or DC, your state has a paid family leave program).

2. Choose whether you want us to apply to the program for you or contact your employer with your leave request. If you want to apply for the program, we will walk you through the questions on the form and mail the application form for you.

3. If you want us to contact your employer, enter your leave details, including the starting date, number of weeks of leave, and how many weeks of paid leave you are requesting (for example, you may take a 12 week leave, but only request 8 weeks of paid leave to make the request reasonable).

4. Indicate whether you are the birth parent or not (birth parents have a few additional protections).

5. Enter the name of your company and the person to address this request to.

6. Select whether you want us to email the request to your employer on your behalf.

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What Else Can DoNotPay Do for You?

DoNotPay can also help you with:

• Request sick leave
• File a complaint
• Insurance Claims

Visit DoNotPay today to see what else they can do for you.