Obviously you are within the guidelines of the Act (i.e. 50 employees) and the employee who is currently Away With Out Leave (AWOL) has been in the company's employ for at least 12 months.
When he made the request for FMLA Leave I assume he presented a certification from someone that the Leave was necessary. That certification should have stated the duration of the leave, and whether it was intermittent, or continuous.
If no certification was presented he had to present a reason for the leave to someone who accpted it, otherwise it would not be FMLA but a normal Personal Leave (up to 30 calendar days if the Company had such a policy).
The Company also has the right to demand that the employee provide periodic updates, at least monthly, from the person(s) who certified the need for leave.
I am also assuming that the employee has not made any (if required) contributions to medical plans, union dues, and the like.
Since the employee has been AWOL for more than 12 weeks, which is the limit of the FMLA (and most States), I would send a certified letter, return receipt requested, informing the employee that since he has not contacted the Company since the start of the leave, that he has been "dropped from the rolls" (terminated) as a "voluntary quit".
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