What to do after DLS denies your leave
A denial for paperwork is often a paperwork problem. A state-licensed provider completes the exact certification DLS asked for — usually within 24 hours after we have everything needed.
Start My IntakeWhere do I find the reason my leave was denied?
Start with the exact words. Open the formal DLS message (the email or the letter) and the leave request itself in A to Z: MyHR → My Requests → Open cases → your leave case. Pull out two things: the stated reason and the deadline.
Find your case number too. It's on formal DLS emails, letters, and provider forms, and inside the leave request in A to Z; it may not show on the summary card or in every notification. You'll want it on everything you send back.
One status that confuses people: "provisionally approved." It isn't a denial and it isn't final — your DLS message says what's still needed and by when. That message controls, not what a forum thread remembers.
What does "insufficient documentation" actually mean?
It's narrower than it sounds, and it's defined. Incomplete means entries on the certification were left blank. Insufficient means the entries are there but vague, ambiguous, or nonresponsive — or a generic document was sent in place of what was requested.
The generic-document trap catches careful people. Workers describe sending a stack of discharge papers and still getting "insufficient" back, because discharge papers answer a hospital's questions, not the certification's. Using the DLS form is often the clearest way to provide every item requested and reduce follow-up.
An RFI is the same message in a new envelope — a request for additional information, and it can follow any form. It names what DLS still wants. Answer it item by item, not with more of the same records.
Can I resubmit after my Amazon leave of absence is denied?
For a paperwork denial, usually yes. "Insufficient documentation" is a verdict on the current paperwork, not necessarily on your leave. A corrected certification, submitted in time, answers what the denial is asking for.
If your case runs under FMLA, federal rules back this up: when a certification is incomplete or insufficient, the employer "shall state in writing what additional information is necessary" and must generally allow seven calendar days to cure it. Not every DLS case is an FMLA case, and the tracks (FMLA, LOA, accommodation) can overlap rather than exclude each other. In practice, the DLS message names what's missing and gives a deadline to fix it.
The window is the hard limit. A stronger certification that arrives after the case closes helps nobody. Go by the deadline in your DLS message.
How long do I have to fix it and resubmit?
The deadline in your DLS message — that's the answer, and the only reliable one. Numbers from forum threads may be from someone else's case, an old policy, or a lawsuit's allegations. Yours is in writing, in your case.
For context, the federal FMLA clocks: 15 calendar days to return a requested certification (more if it isn't practicable despite diligent, good-faith efforts, or if the employer allows more time), and generally seven calendar days to cure one that came back incomplete or insufficient. That's context, not your deadline. Your DLS message wins.
If the window is short, count backward. A licensed provider needs your intake answers and the form DLS sent; the completed certification usually follows within 24 hours after we have everything needed. The questionnaire is online now.
What makes a resubmitted certification stronger?
It answers exactly what was asked. Every entry completed, every RFI item addressed, in the terms the form uses. Specific dates and durations read as answers; "patient is under my care" reads as insufficient.
It's on the paper DLS asked for. Under FMLA, a complete and sufficient certification counts regardless of format. Resubmitting the same records under a new cover note is how a case comes back "insufficient" twice.
And it's completed by someone who has seen the form before. A state-licensed provider reviews your intake, then completes and signs the exact form DLS sent, field by field, to its requirements. You answer a short online questionnaire, usually no appointment; a provider may follow up for more detail before deciding.
The completed certification comes to you by email, and we can also send it directly to DLS if you asked us to. If DLS writes back with a follow-up request, that's handled at no additional charge. DLS can verify the document with Certicare by email: hello@certicare.org.
The fee is $49 flat, shown before you start.
$49 covers your full DLS case: clinical review, the supported forms it needs, and any DLS verification, clarification, or corrections — no additional charges. If we can't complete your request, for any reason, you're refunded in full.
Secure online intake. Your information is reviewed by Certicare and is not sent to Amazon without your authorization.
Certicare is not affiliated with Amazon. Amazon makes the final decision on leave and accommodation requests. This page is general information about the leave process, not legal advice.
I was terminated over my leave — can I appeal?
Sometimes — and the first job is finding the instructions. They're often not in the termination notice itself; they tend to arrive in a separate email or text afterward, and not every termination is appeal-eligible. Check every channel Amazon has for you, including personal email, and don't stop at the notice.
Don't read meaning into a badge or app that still works. Access after a termination cuts off inconsistently, from immediately to several hours later. A working login is not a reversal.
Know which department owns what. DLS decides the leave; HR and timekeeping own UPT, points, schedules, and the termination itself. An approved leave should flow through to your attendance record, but it may not do so automatically or right away.
That split decides where you push. If DLS has confirmed your leave is approved and the attendance record still shows the absences, take the mismatch to ERC. If the leave is still pending or denied, escalate inside DLS first — a stronger certification is usually the faster fix there.
If the termination is tied to protected leave, federal law prohibits FMLA interference and retaliation; using FMLA leave as a negative factor in discipline is prohibited conduct. The legal clocks are shorter than people expect: two years to sue under FMLA, three if the violation was willful. If the termination looks like disability discrimination, that is a separate claim with a shorter clock: an EEOC charge within 180 days, or 300 where a state or local agency enforces the same prohibition. You can also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, which enforces the FMLA. For a termination, this page is not enough: talk to an employment attorney early.
The paperwork still matters in an appeal. An appeal with a complete, provider-signed certification attached for the absences in question is a different conversation from one without it. If the certification was the weak point, fixing it is still step one.
Founded by someone who's been there
Rebecca Martel, APRN, FNP-BC, is a family nurse practitioner who has completed hundreds of these forms.