The Mailbag.

• Position: Letter to the editor

After learning of possible serious medical condition, what are our legal obligations?

Q An employee told us he has a bad hernia. He wants to wait a couple months to have the operation, since it requires six weeks' recovery. He does some lifting in his job. Yesterday, he had to go home early because he was in pain. Now that we are aware of his condition, what's our liability? And what should we do?

A First, you should report the injury to your workers' compensation carrier. Second, the employee has provided sufficient information to place you on notice that he may have an injury that qualifies as a serious health condition under the FMLA (assuming that you and the employee are covered under the FMLA). It may also qualify for short-term disability coverage.

You should provide the employee with information about your FMLA and STD policies, and follow the procedures to determine if the employee qualifies for such leave.

If the medical certification suggests that there is any urgency to having the surgery, you should permit the employee to take leave without waiting a couple months. In...