Employees must have been employed for at least 12 months.

Employees will have worked a minimum of 1,250 hours in the immediate preceding 12 months.

Leave will be granted for the following reasons:

a. Birth of a child and to care for the child (leave must be taken within 12 months after the date of birth).

b. Placement of a child with an employee for adoption or foster care (leave must be taken within 12 months after placement).

c. To care for a family member which has been defined as a spouse, child, or parent who has an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves in-patient care or continuing treatment by a licensed doctor of medicine or osteopathy or other health care provider. The detailed definition and qualification of these family members who are specifically covered by Family Medical Leave are as defined by the Act.

d. An illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition of the employee which requires in-patient care or continuing treatment by a physician and which makes the employee unable to perform the functions of the job.

e. A qualifying exigency, as defined by the Department of Labor, arising out of the fact that the spouse, son, daughter or parent of the employee is on active duty or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces in support of a contingency operation.

f. Care for a spouse, son, daughter, parent or next of kin with illness or injury incurred in the line of duty while in the U.S. Armed Forces or National Guard or Reserves.

An eligible employee is entitled to up to 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave in a calendar year for reasons described in a, b, c, d and e above. An eligible employee may take up to 26 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave during a calendar year to care for an injured or ill service member as described in f above. Leave to care for an injured or ill service member, when combined with other FMLA qualifying leave, may not exceed 26 weeks in a calendar year.

Requirements

a. Once the employee or the employee’s supervisor identifies the need for Family Medical Leave, the Office of Risk Management should be contacted and the appropriate forms should be requested. If the employee and the supervisor are unsure if the circumstance qualifies for Family Medical Leave, the Office of Risk Management should be contacted for further review.

b. Employees are required to submit a medical certification to support the request for leave. This must show the reason for the leave and the dates needed for treatment. A form is available from the Office of Risk Management if the leave is requested because a family member is ill. If the employee is ill, a form will be provided by the Disability and Risk Claims Manager.

c. If leave is granted for the care of a family member, generally this leave is considered unpaid leave. However, the University will allow the employee to use some paid time off benefits that may be available. Non-exempt employees may use personal days and up to 5 sick days if time is available through TAP #15 Sick Leave, Short-Term and Long-Term Disability Benefits. Employees may also use vacation time if available with supervisory approval.

d. If the leave is granted for an illness, injury, impairment or a physical or mental condition of the employee, that employee must utilize applicable benefit payments which must be counted as part of the leave time.

e. Employees are required to periodically report to their supervisor on their status and intent to return to work.

f. A 30-day advance notice is required where the necessity for leave is foreseeable.

g. Whenever intermittent leave is requested under this policy for planned medical treatment, the employee will make every effort to schedule the treatment so as not to interfere with the performance of their job during scheduled work time. Employees will be required to obtain medical certification of the dates of treatment and the duration of such treatment for the purpose of informing the University as to when they will be away from their jobs and how long the absence is expected to last.

Benefits to the Employee

a. Eligible employees are entitled to a total of 12 work weeks of unpaid leave during any calendar year. (Up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave during a calendar year to care for a spouse, son, daughter, parent or next of kin with illness or injury incurred in the line of duty while in the U.S. Armed Forces or National Guard or Reserves.)

b. Health care coverage shall continue under the same conditions that it would have if the employee had not taken a leave. The employee is responsible for the reimbursement to the University for all health benefit costs if he or she fails to return to work at the expiration of the leave. Employees are responsible for their portion of medical or other insurance costs that would have been deducted from their pay had they not been on leave.

c. An employee returning from Family or Medical Leave will be restored to the same or equivalent position, and the taking of leave will not result in a loss of any benefits which had accrued before the leave commenced. Vacation and/or sick time will not accrue during any paid or unpaid leave that is more than one month in duration.

d. Part-time employees are also covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act of l993. The conditions are the same as for full-time employees except they are not eligible for coverage under paid sick leave nor do they have any coverage for health benefits. Refer to TAP #15, Sick Leave, Short-Term and Long-Term Disability Benefits for additional information on sick leave.

Full-time, non-temporary administrative, clerical/ secretarial, Facilities Management, and Public Safety support employees may be granted leaves of absence for personal reasons. Leaves may vary in length depending on the circumstances but may not exceed one calendar year. All requests for personal leaves should be made in writing by the employee and submitted to the senior department head and the Director of Human Resource Management.

The Director of Human Resource Management is responsible for addressing all applicable issues, such as final payments and the effect of the leave on employee benefits with the senior department head and the employee. If the leave is then approved by the senior department head and the appropriate divisional Vice President, the Office of Human Resource Management should be notified.

All remaining personal days and vacation days must be taken before unpaid leave begins.

Employees on leave of absence for personal reasons which exceed 1 month may retain health care coverage under the University’s benefits program under COBRA, Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1986, during the leave if the employee remits premiums for coverage.

Employees using leave time provided under this policy will have a prorated vacation entitlement in the following year that will be based on the actual time worked in proportion to the total time available to work.