Excerpted from Arkansas Employment Law Letter, written by attorneys at the law firm Jack, Lyon & Jones, P.A.

Q: My business is covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). I know I'm required to maintain certain records, but I'm unsure which records that requirement applies to. Can you please review the FMLA's recordkeeping requirements?

A: Employers covered by the FMLA must maintain the following records that disclose the information below:

• basic payroll and identifying employee data, rate or basis of pay and terms of compensation, daily and weekly hours worked per pay period, additions to or deductions from wages, and total compensation paid;
• dates FMLA leave is taken by eligible employees (that information may come from time records or employees' requests for leave - leave must be designated in records as FMLA leave and may not include leave required under state law or an employer plan that isn't also covered by the FMLA);
• the hours of leave if it's taken by eligible employees in increments of less than one full day;
• copies of written employee notices of leave furnished to you under the FMLA and copies of all general and specific written notices you give employees as required under the FMLA and its regulations;
• any documents describing employee benefits or personnel policies and practices covering paid and unpaid leaves;
• premium payments of employee benefits; and
• records of any dispute between you and an eligible employee over the designation of leave as FMLA leave, including any written statement from either of you covering the reasons for the designation and for the disagreement.

Records and documents related to medical certification, recertification, or the medical history of employees or their family members created for FMLA purposes must be maintained as confidential medical records in files separate from personnel files. If the ADA is also applicable, records must be maintained in conformance with that law's confidentiality requirements, which can be found at 29 Code of Federal Regulations Section 1630.14(c)(1) on the U.S. Department of Labor's website at www.dol.gov.