The revisions were effective January 28, 2008.
FMLA entitles eligible employees to take up to twelve (12) weeks of unpaid job protected leave for specified family and medical reasons. FMLA provides eligible employees up to 26 weeks of unpaid job protected leave to care for a service member who is recovering from a serious illness or injury sustained in the line of duty on active duty and actively receiving medical treatment.
Year is defined as starting every twelve (12) months from the current or most recent FMLA begin date. The employee may use the leave that is allowed during the year and, if he/she uses the total amount, will not be eligible for another such leave for a period of one (1) year from the FMLA begin date.
Family Medical Leave may be taken for an employee´s illness or that of an employee's son, daughter, spouse, or parent (not parent-in-law). Care giver leave may be taken for a spouse, son, daughter, parent or nearest blood relative of a covered service member who is recovering from a serious illness or injury sustained in the line of duty on active duty and who is actively receiving medical treatment.
Son or daughter means a biological, adopted, or foster child; a stepchild; a legal ward; or a child of a person standing in loco parentis.
Parent means the biological parent of an employee or an individual who stands or stood in loco parentis to an employee when the employee was a child.
Employees seeking to use FMLA leave may be required to provide 30 days advance notice of the need to take family and medical leave when the need is foreseeable.
Medical certification supporting the need for leave due to a serious health condition affecting the employee or an immediate family member may be required. Second and third medical opinions and periodic recertifications (at the University's expense) may be required. The University may also require periodic reports during FMLA leave regarding the employee's status and intent to return to work. Medical certification, provided by the military, may be required for leave to care for a covered service member who is recovering from a serious illness or injury sustained in the line of duty on active duty and who is actively receiving medical treatment.
Yes. The University must provide the employee with notice detailing the specific expectations and obligations of the employee and explaining any consequences of a failure to meet these obligations. For information and assistance, Human Resource Services should be contacted.
The University is responsible for designation of FMLA in all cases, and the University's designation must be made before the leave starts, or before an extension of a leave is granted, unless the University does not have sufficient information as to the employee's reason for taking the leave until after the leave commenced. If the designation is oral, it must be confirmed, in writing, within two (2) workdays.
Both. Accrued vacation and personal days must be used when appropriate for any FMLA qualifying purpose. In addition, family sick leave (up to 12 days per year) must be used for a seriously ill immediate family member and accrued sick leave must be used for the employee's own serious health condition. Once this time is exhausted, the employee reverts to unpaid status for the remainder of the FMLA leave. Employees with accrued compensatory leave may not be required to substitute such leave for FMLA leave.
A week in which a holiday occurs will be counted against FMLA leave. However, if the institution is temporarily closed and employees are not expected to work for one or more weeks (e.g., holiday and summer shutdowns), such weeks may not be counted against an employee´s leave entitlement.
Yes, either the employee or the employer may choose to have the employee´s FMLA 12-week leave entitlement run concurrently with a Workers´ Compensation absence when the injury is one that meets the criteria for a serious health condition. However, if an employee has elected to receive worker´s compensation benefits, the employer cannot require the employee to substitute any paid vacation or other leave.
The University may require an employee to support a request for a leave for a serious health condition with the certification on form UMUW 62 from a health care provider and may require an employee to undergo another examination (or two) with another provider of the employer's choice. If the University requires a second or third opinion, the cost will be paid by the University. However, the University may not require a second or third opinion for recertification or return-to-work certification. All certifications must be maintained in a confidential manner.
The University may do so only if the absence is due to Workers´ Compensation connected injury or illness. For non-work related injuries, the University´s health care provider may, with the employee´s permission, contact the employee´s health care provider to clarify information provided, but not to seek additional information beyond the inquiries permitted on the form. If the University has reason to doubt the validity of a physician´s certification, the University may require the employee to acquire a second medical opinion at the employer´s expense.
Intermittent leave may be taken in blocks of time or by reducing weekly or daily schedules. FMLA leave may be taken intermittently whenever it is medically necessary to care for a seriously ill family member or because the employee is seriously ill and unable to work a full schedule.
Serious health condition entitling an employee to FMLA leave means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility, including any period of incapacity, or any subsequent treatment in connection with such inpatient care; or continuing treatment by a health care provider.
Continuing treatment includes a period of incapacity of more than three (3) consecutive calendar days, involving treatment two (2) or more times by a health care provider or treatment by a health care provider on at least one (1) occasion that results in a regimen of continuing treatment under the health care provider´s supervision; pregnancy or prenatal care; a chronic serious health condition, defined as one that requires periodic visits for treatment by a health care provider, continues over an extended period of time, and may cause episodic rather than continuing incapacity; a permanent or long term condition for which treatment may not be effective; and an absence to receive multiple treatments by a health care provider either for restorative surgery after an accident or injury or for a condition that would likely result in an incapacity of three (3) or more days in the absence of medical treatment.
FMLA defines "health care provider" as a doctor of medicine or osteopathy who is authorized to practice medicine or surgery by the state in which the doctor practices; or any other person determined by the Secretary of Labor to be capable of providing health care services. These include podiatrists, dentists, clinical psychologists, optometrists and chiropractors authorized to practice in the state and performing within the scope of their practice as defined under state law; nurse practitioners and nurse midwives, who provide diagnosis and treatment; Christian Science practitioners and clinical social workers.
Yes, the University is required to maintain its portion of health insurance coverage for an employee on FMLA leave whenever such insurance was provided before the leave was taken and on the same terms as if the employee had continued to work. Arrangements must be made for employees to pay their share of health insurance premiums while on leave. For information and assistance, employees should contact the Faculty and Staff Benefits Office.
For the purpose of vesting in the UM pension plan, no unpaid FMLA leave will be considered as service credit. For the purpose of determining the amount of retirement benefits, a FMLA leave granted due to the injury or illness of an employee, will be considered service credit. No FMLA leave will be considered as a break in service under the plan.
Upon return from FMLA leave an employee must be restored to his/her original position, or to an equivalent position with equivalent pay, benefits, and other employment terms and conditions. In addition, an employee´s use of FMLA leave cannot result in a loss of any employee benefit that the employee earned or was entitled to before the FMLA leave. This includes seniority and shift. (Employees are not entitled to accrue seniority or employment benefits during any period of unpaid FMLA leave.)
No particular order or form of records is required. The Act establishes no requirement that the University revise its computerized payroll or personnel record system. However, the University must keep the records specified by the regulations for no less than three (3) years and make them available for inspection, copying and transcription by representatives of the Department of Labor upon request. In order to ensure confidentiality, FMLA medical records are maintained separately from other employment files in the campus Human Resources Office. If an employee transfers from one campus organization to another and if the employee´s FMLA activity is less than three (3) years old, all this documentation should be transferred to the employee´s new home campus.
Regulations require records to include a considerable list of information that the employer must maintain for a period of three (3) years and make available, if requested, for review by the Department of Labor: basic payroll and identifying employee data; dates that FMLA leave was taken by employees; hours of FMLA leave, if taken in less than full-day increments; copies of any written notices from employees requesting leave, and notices given to employees as required under FMLA; documents describing employee benefits or employer policies and practices about the taking of paid and unpaid leave; premium payments for employee benefits; and records of any dispute between employer and employee regarding designation of leave as FMLA leave, including any written statement about the reasons for the designation and for disagreement.
Vacation and sick leave continue to accrue during any paid leave status of at least 75 percent FTE. However, the employee is not eligible to use accrual until he/she returns to work. Personal days accumulate regardless of paid or unpaid leave status. However, personal days are lost at the anniversary date if the employee is on a leave of absence at that time.
Qualifying absences under FMLA will not be considered in calculating occurrences of absence that may lead to disciplinary action.
Employees who are eligible for Family Medical Leave, but are not eligible for vacation, sick leave and personal days will have the leave recorded in the vacation/sick leave computing system.
Date Created: 9/26/97
Last Updated: 6/01/2008