For Verification Of EAP Appointments During Working Hours

Note: If an employee chooses to see an EAP counselor outside of his/her working hours, absolutely no information will be released due to the confidential nature of the EAP program.

• If a supervisor wants to verify if an employee has been seen by an EAP counselor, the supervisor should first ask the employee if they are being seen by a Henry Ford EAP counselor or by Mike Erickson (Local 223).
• The supervisor can then contact Henry Ford 888.EAP.HFHS (327.4347) or Mike Erickson 313.235.8252 for verification.
• The supervisor should indicate the date and time the employee claims to have been seen. If the employee has been seen by EAP, the EAP counselor can verify that the employee was seen on that particular date and the approximate time of the day the employee was seen.
• If the supervisor does not know the date of the visit, EAP will refer the supervisor back to the employee to obtain that information. Once the supervisor can provide the date of the visit, EAP will verify whether they saw the employee on that date and can give the supervisor an idea of the time of the visit.
• If the supervisor is unable to provide an appointment date to the EAP, the supervisor will be advised by the EAP to contact the employee to request from the employee who the employee was being seen by (Henry Ford or Mike Erickson) and when they were seen. The supervisor can then verify the visit with the EAP.
• If the supervisor provides a date to EAP and the employee was not seen by EAP on that date, EAP will refer the supervisor back to the employee and advise the supervisor to verify the date with the employee. If the date is the same date as that already provided to EAP, the supervisor should instruct the employee to contact the EAP to provide EAP written authorization for the EAP counselor to release information concerning the date and time of the visits. A visit that cannot be verified should not be considered as authorized.
• If an employee claims to have an appointment with EAP and is requesting to visit EAP on Company time, and if the supervisor questions the authenticity of the visit, the supervisor can contact the EAP provider to verify the scheduled appointment. The supervisor should first verify with the employee that they already have a scheduled appointment. If the employee has not set up an appointment with EAP, they must do so before the time is authorized.
• If the employee has not been seen by Henry Ford or Mike Erickson and the employee cannot provide verification of the visit, the employee's time away from work will be considered unauthorized. Without written authorization from the employee, EAP will not verify that an employee has not been seen.
• Please keep in mind that the EAP professionals are not able to remove an employee from the job except for the balance of an employee's shift and only when it is believed to be medically necessary by EAP. All recommendations for partial shift medical leaves by an EAP counselor must be approved by DTE Energy's Medical Director. If the employee requires time off the job for a period greater than a partial shift due to an EAP related medical issue, the employee must obtain that medical release from their treating physician or Health Care Provider (HCP).

When an EAP counselor is in receipt of medical documentation from an employee's HCP and the HCP is requesting a medical leave of absence for the employee, the EAP counselor is to forward that information to the Disability area for processing of the disability claim. It is the Disability Claims Management area that is responsible for notifying the supervisor of an authorized medical leave of absence; EAP will not forward this type of information to the supervisor.

If you have additional questions concerning this matter, please feel free to contact either EAP or Medical Services (Hotline: 313.235.6335)