The 30-day floor on intermittent FMLA recertification requests

29 CFR 825.308(c) sets a hard floor: employers may request recertification of an ongoing serious health condition no more frequently than every 30 days, and only in connection with an absence.

This rule protects the employee from harassment-by-paperwork. It also protects the employer from doing useless work.

The three exceptions

You can request recertification early (before the 30-day window) in three specific scenarios:

1. Minimum duration specified in the original certification has expired. If the employee's original WH-380-E said "expected duration: 4 weeks" and 4 weeks have passed, you can request recertification immediately regardless of where you are in the 30-day cycle.

1. Circumstances described by the original certification have changed significantly. The employee was certified for "occasional migraines, 1-2 days per month" and has now been out 8 days in the past 3 weeks. The pattern diverges from the certification. You may request recertification.

1. You receive information casting doubt on the employee's stated reason. This is a high bar: it cannot be suspicion or pattern-matching against a calendar. It must be specific information (e.g., a social media post showing the employee on vacation during a claimed leave day).

What Sentinel does with this rule

Sentinel tracks the recertification clock per case. The case timeline shows a "Recertification window opens in X days" indicator that turns green at day 25 (5 days before you are allowed to request). If the employee's usage pattern diverges from the certification, the intermittent pattern analyzer flags it and surfaces exception #2 automatically so you know you can recertify early.

You do not need to remember the rule. Sentinel counts the days for you.