What happens to your UPT while your leave case is pending
A pending case, a dropping balance, and what a denial does to both — plain answers from Certicare, where a state-licensed provider completes Amazon's leave paperwork after a real evaluation.
It's late, your case still says pending, and the UPT number in A to Z is lower than it was yesterday. Worker forums are full of the same report: the balance keeps moving while the case sits open. This guide covers what that actually means, what a denial would do to those hours, and what you can do in the meantime.
Does a leave of absence use UPT?
An approved leave should not use UPT. Once DLS approves the case, the absences it covers are supposed to be excused, not charged to your balance. In worker accounts, that correction doesn't always happen on its own or right away, so after an approval, check the balance instead of assuming it updated.
If DLS has confirmed your approval in writing and the absences are still charged, raise it inside your DLS case first and ask for the correction. ERC is the second track for an attendance mismatch once DLS has confirmed the approval. If the case is still pending or was denied, ERC can't fix it; that has to be resolved inside the DLS case.
A pending case is a different situation. Pending means DLS hasn't decided, and an undecided case doesn't excuse anything yet. A denied leave never covered those absences at all; the next two sections cover what that does to a balance.
Why is my UPT going negative while my leave is pending?
Two different systems are involved. DLS decides the leave case; HR and timekeeping own the attendance side, including UPT. An approval in one is supposed to flow through to the other, but workers report it doesn't always happen automatically or immediately.
So a dropping balance while your case is pending isn't proof of a denial. It usually means the attendance side is still charging absences the way it always does, while the leave side hasn't ruled yet.
Workers describe it playing out both ways. Some watch the balance drop with each absence while the case sits open; others see little movement until a decision lands, and then everything at once. Amazon doesn't publish how this works, and the mechanics behind the A to Z login change without announcement.
Either way, today's balance isn't the verdict on your case. The verdict is the decision, and paperwork is usually what DLS is waiting on. How long a pending case typically stays pending is its own question, covered in the timeline guide.
What happens to those hours if the leave is denied?
This is the retroactive trap. When a leave is denied, every absence that case would have covered stays on you, and in posts describing a denial, the common pattern is those hours getting charged to UPT together, in one update, once the decision comes through. A balance that was holding steady can go negative in a single refresh.
In the community's own words, negative UPT is termination territory. If your balance is already there, the negative-UPT guide covers that situation on its own.
Here's the part you can still influence: which denials are preventable. "Insufficient documentation" means entries missing, answers vague or nonresponsive, or a generic document (a visit summary, discharge papers, a plain note) sent in place of what DLS requested. That kind of denial fills the forums.
It's also the fixable kind. Using the DLS form is often the clearest way to provide every item requested and reduce follow-up.
If DLS has asked you for a form, that part is still in your hands. A state-licensed provider completes and signs the specific form DLS sent you, usually within 24 hours after we have everything needed.
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Does "provisionally approved" mean approved?
Not by itself. "Provisionally approved" is a real status in A to Z and DLS messages, but no public Amazon document defines it, and worker reports about what it means don't agree with each other.
What is consistent: the DLS message that carries the status also says what DLS still needs and by when. Treat that message as the controlling document. A provisional status with an unmet paperwork request is a case that can still be denied, and a later denial leads to the same retroactive charge described above.
Treat "provisionally approved" as unfinished. Get whatever the message asks for in before its deadline, and keep the message.
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.
What should I watch in the A to Z app?
Your case lives at MyHR → My Requests → Open cases → your leave case. Four things are worth checking every time you open it:
Also watch for an RFI, a request for additional information. It can follow any form you've already submitted, and it arrives with its own deadline. An unanswered RFI puts the case back at risk of an insufficient-documentation denial.
If the form or the RFI is the part you're stuck on, that's the part Certicare does. Answer the intake once; a state-licensed provider reviews it and completes what DLS requested.
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Can I be fired while my case is still pending?
Terminations arriving while a leave case was still open show up in worker accounts, and a pending lawsuit, Coddens v. Amazon, filed in July 2026, alleges a termination even after a leave was approved. Allegations are not settled findings. But nobody should tell you it can't happen, so here is what makes it less likely and what to do if it does.
The two tracks matter again. DLS decides the leave; the attendance side, where the termination trigger sits, belongs to HR and timekeeping. An open case by itself isn't the protection; the protection is a case that gets decided, on complete paperwork, before the attendance side acts.
If your leave qualifies as FMLA leave, federal FMLA rules add real protections: interference and retaliation are prohibited, and using FMLA leave as a negative factor in discipline is prohibited conduct. An Amazon medical LOA isn't automatically FMLA, though. The tracks can overlap, sorting which ones apply is part of what DLS does, and the FMLA guide covers eligibility.
If a termination notice does arrive, don't assume it explains your options. Appeal instructions aren't reliably included, and not every termination is appeal-eligible. A badge or app that still works is not confirmation that anything was reversed; accounts of access after termination are inconsistent, and the terminated-while-on-leave guide walks through what to do next.
How do I protect my UPT while the case is pending?
Three moves, and none of them wait on Amazon.
First, build your record: dated screenshots of your UPT balance, every DLS message saved, your case number written down. You may never need any of it, but a correction request goes much faster with dates attached.
Second, get DLS what it asked for before the deadline in your DLS message. In thread after thread, the cases that end badly are the ones still waiting on paperwork when the deadline passed.
Third, if your own provider won't complete the form (workers regularly hear no from urgent care and telehealth apps once the DLS form comes out), don't let that refusal run out your deadline. Completing DLS paperwork is the service Certicare provides.
What Certicare does while your case is pending
You answer a short online questionnaire, usually with no appointment to book. A state-licensed provider reads what you sent, then completes and signs the form DLS requested: Health Care Provider Form, Leave as an Accommodation, or Physician Statement. A provider may follow up for more detail before deciding.
The completed form comes to you by email, usually within 24 hours after we have everything needed, and we can also send it directly to DLS if you ask us to. If DLS writes back wanting more, that follow-up is handled at no additional charge. DLS or your employer can verify the document with Certicare by email.
The fee is $49 flat, shown before you start. 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.
Your case is still open, and the paperwork is the part of it you control.
$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.
Founded by someone who's been there
Rebecca Martel, APRN, FNP-BC, is a family nurse practitioner who has completed hundreds of these forms.