If you're planning an extended parental leave with Cocoon, you'll need to complete the FMLA Serious Health Condition form (WH380E) or, if you're in California, a Certification of Health Care Provider. Extended pregnancy leave refers to any time off that goes beyond the standard period of disability. 6 weeks for vaginal delivery, and 8 weeks of time for a c-section is a presumed period of disability. Completing this form is a key step in making sure Cocoon can approve any leave entitlements you're eligible for.
For employees, planning a parental leave may feel extremely overwhelming. From figuring out what paperwork is needed, when it’s due, and where to send it, they’re also dealing with the condition that’s prompting the parental leave request. Cocoon addresses this in the leave submission process by highlighting everything an employee needs to know about the Serious Health Condition (SHC) form, which is required before anything else can be submitted for their leave.
On a single page, employees get the following information:
Why: These leave forms are required for leave to be job-protected.
How: Employees need to download the applicable forms that Cocoon surfaces and have their medical provider complete them. After completion, they upload the forms to their Cocoon dashboard in the ‘your tasks’ tab.
When: They have 15 days from their leave submission date to complete and upload the forms.
Once the employee returns their forms, Cocoon will review for completeness before approving the leave and granting any leave entitlements. Under FMLA, an employer does have the right to complete a sufficiency review, however, this will not be performed by Cocoon.
What happens if an employee misses the 15-day deadline?
If the employee has not returned their SHC form within the required 15 days, on the 16th date post leave submission, Cocoon will send the employee an email informing them that they have a 5-day grace period to do so. If they fail to do so, their leave will be denied. Workspace admins will be cc’ed on this email as well:
If the employee does not return their form within the grace period, on the 21st day, Cocoon will deny the leave and notify both the employee and the employer via email.
After a denial, there are a few options:
The employer can extend the employee’s deadline for returning the forms (and communicate this to Cocoon via email),
The employer may waive the requirement for the employee to return the SHC form entirely and approve the leave without it (and communicate this to Cocoon via email), or
If the employer does not extend the deadline or waive the form requirement, the employee may request leave as an accommodation from the employer, and the employer would process that accommodation request.
How can I track denied leaves?
Any medical leave denied because of a missing or incomplete SHC form will appear in your Cocoon Dashboard. You can filter for Denied leaves and click into each one for more details, including when the leave was submitted and denied
Questions? Reach out to the Cocoon Support team at [email protected]