u/Equivalent-Common104

I work for a medium-sized non-profit with many government contracts. We have an employee that I supervise that has been on leave for the most part since last October. They work 20-hours/week so do not qualify for FMLA. When they first went on leave, they just told us, “I need to take time off, here is my medical note putting me out for the next 4 months.” HR sent them the Healthcare Provider Accommodation Form to outline the employee’s needs. Since they don’t qualify for FMLA, HR said it was up to me to ok the leave or not. I went ahead & OK’d it. Since then, they have resubmitted their Healthcare Provider Accommodation Form that our HR provided them, signed by their doctor, multiple times.
 
The challenge/question I have is, I don’t think our HR is going about this correctly. HR tells me that we essentially can’t do anything, extended leave is an accommodation, and we as an employer must show that we are working with the employee for a year before denying an accommodation/saying no. However, as I research this, I keep seeing that this process should be interactive between employee and employer, to determine what is being asked, what the employer can reasonably accommodate, and there is no mention of requiring a year of working with an employee. There has been no discussion, no interaction, nothing. This employee submits their form & HR just says, “Ok thanks!” Every time I then call HR to ask what we can do, reminding them of the hardship this is causing. This employee’s duties are shifted onto others, we’re not able to meet goals that I am held accountable for, and it could jeopardize our funding. I don’t want to be a jerk, I have worked with this employee for 9 years & know them well. However, the extended leave is not working for us & doesn’t seem reasonable at this point. On their last form, their return date was listed as August 14th.  August 10ththe employee emailed to say they were extending their leave again & awaiting an updated form. We are still waiting on the updated form. I called HR about it and was told the person has a 15-day grace period to get the new form in.
 
Everything online is geared towards protecting employees, which I totally understand, but I’m looking for essentially the HR process from the employer’s perspective. Our organization recently went through some litigation with employees, I don’t know the details, but I wonder if they’re being exceptionally careful as a result, and that’s why HR is going about things like this? I also have zero trust in our HR person based on years of interaction, & wouldn’t be surprised if they’re interpreting things incorrectly. I am not in HR but everyone I talk to that has gone through medical accommodations & leaves looks at me like I’m crazy when I tell them what’s going on. Any resources I can check out?? Thank you!!