HR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT TIP: US DOL OPINION LETTERS
As a Human Resources Director, one of the hardest aspects of the position is the application of rules and regulations to your workforce. The U.S. Department of Labor offers quarterly updates, answering questions anonymously on specific questions from employers. This quarter they delve into specifics on FMLA and overtime. Their full opinion letters can be found: https://www.dol.gov/whd/opinion/guidance.htm
The WHD answered that organ donors can qualify for FMLA leave and stated that: “An organ donation can qualify as an impairment or physical condition that is a serious health condition under the FMLA when it involves either “inpatient care” under § 825.114 or “continuing treatment” under § 825.115. Thus, as relevant to your letter, an organ donation would qualify as a serious medical condition whenever it results in an overnight stay in a hospital. Of course, that is not the only means for organ donation to involve “inpatient care” or “continuing treatment.” Organ-donation surgery, however, commonly requires overnight hospitalization, as you note in your letter, and that alone suffices for the surgery and the postsurgery recovery to qualify as a serious health condition.