On September 4, 2018, the Department of Labor issued new FMLA notices and certification forms. But don’t panic, the change was procedural in nature; no substantive changes were made to the forms.

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the DOL is required to submit its forms for approval to the Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) every three years. While the prior forms expired on May 31, 2018, the DOL had renewed them on a temporary basis pending approval by the OMB.

With the OMB’s approval completed, the DOL has issued updated forms reflecting an August 31, 2021 expiration date. Even though, with the exception of the updated expiration date, the newly issued forms are identical to the prior forms, employers should ensure that they are using the most current forms, which are available on the DOL’s website.