FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE

SCOPE  

All regular employees.

POLICY

As required by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the College will provide covered employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid job-protected leave for certain family and medical reasons. Employees who have worked for the College for at least 12 months and for 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months of employment are eligible.

Purpose of Leave: Unpaid leave may be granted for any of the following reasons:

1. To care for the employee's child after birth or placement for adoption or foster care;
2. To care for the employee's spouse, son, daughter or parent who has a serious health
condition, or
3. For a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the employee's job.

PROCEDURE

Any request for a leave shall be in writing, stating reasons, signed by the employee and given to the Human Resources Office. Leaves in excess of 12 weeks may be granted for the employee's own serious health condition for up to one year. Approval for a leave in excess of 12 weeks shall be at the College's discretion and any decision shall be in writing.

Notice, Duration and Certification

When the need for leave is foreseeable, employees are expected to provide 30 day's advance notice. When not foreseeable, employees are required to provide notice of the need for leave as soon as practicable. When leave is needed for planned medical treatment, employees will make every effort to schedule treatment so as not to unduly disrupt the College's operations. When it can be determined that the employee has not reasonably attempted to schedule his/her treatment, such failure may result in the denial of the leave. Failure to provide appropriate notice may result in the denial of leave.

Leave for newborn or newly-placed child may be taken only within 12 months from the date of birth or placement and may only be taken continuously. If both parents are employed by the College, the combined leave is for 12 weeks, not 24 weeks.

When medically necessary, leave to care for a family member or for the employee's own serious health condition may be taken on an intermittent or a reduced work schedule basis. An employee may be required to transfer temporarily to a position that can better accommodate an intermittent or reduced hours leave. All time taken will count toward the employee's 12 week annual entitlement for family and medical leave.

The College will require medical certification to support a request for a leave because of a serious health condition and may require second or third opinions (at the College's expense) as well as a fitness for duty report before the employee returns to work. For leaves in excess of 12 weeks, this certification must be from an MD/DO approved by the College. The College reserves the right to have a health care provider, other than the provider regularly contracted by the College, to provide health care services, evaluate the necessity and duration of the leave and whether the employee is capable of returning to work and performing the essential functions of his/her position. The medical certification must include the first anticipated date of absence from service to the College and the expected date of return. The medical certification to support leave for family medical reasons must include a statement indicating that the employee's presence is necessary or would be beneficial for the care of the family member and the period of time care is needed or the employee's presence would be beneficial.

When leave is required for a serious health condition, employees will normally be given 15 calendar days to obtain the necessary medical certifications to support the leave. Employees will be required, unless the College waives the requirement, to recertify the need for the leave at least every 30 days and must report in on a periodic basis no less often than every two weeks with respect to their progress or the progress of their parent, spouse or child and their anticipated date for return to work.

Coordination with Other Forms of Leave and Paid Time Off

FMLA is coordinated with other existing forms of leave and paid time off as follows:

1. Work-related serious medical condition. When FMLA leave is used for the employee's
serious health condition which is covered by the Workers' Disability Compensation Act, the employee shall be compensated during the leave in accordance with the provisions of the Worker's Disability Compensation Act.

2. Other serious medical condition of employee. When FMLA leave is used for a serious
medical condition of the employee, the employee may elect to initially use vacation leave pay.

3. Serious medical condition of child, spouse or parent. When FMLA leave is used to care for a family member with a serious medical condition, the employee may elect to initially use vacation leave pay.

4. Birth, adoption, foster care of a child. When FMLA leave is taken for purposes of child care, the employee may elect to initially use vacation leave pay.

All time off work which meets the definitions under FMLA will be charged against the yearly FMLA allowance. For example, whenever a disability/leave (whether work-related or not work related), or any other sick leave is due to a serious medical condition, all time off will be charged against the employee's FMLA allowance. Likewise, if an employee uses vacation for purposes covered by FMLA, whether or not specifically designated as FMLA leave, such time taken will be charged against the employee's FMLA allowance. The College will develop a form to be used whenever any time off is taken, to determine whether FMLA applies.

Wages and Benefits

Leave will be unpaid except as covered by any paid time off. For up to 12 weeks of leave, the College will maintain the employee's health coverage under the group health plan. Any employee contributions to the health plan must be maintained during the leave to maintain coverage. If the employee fails to make such contributions, the College may elect either to cancel health plan coverage (after 30 days) or to pay for such coverage and to obtain reimbursement by payroll deduction when the employee returns to work.

Any other coverage which is maintained during FMLA is the responsibility of the employee. The employee shall either make arrangements for payments during the leave, or shall reimburse the College by payroll deduction at the conclusion of the leave.

Employees who fail to return from a leave will be obligated to reimburse the College for the cost of the College-paid health coverage, except when the employee's failure to return is due to the continuation, recurrence or onset of a serious health condition which would entitle the employee to medical or family leave or other circumstances beyond the employee's control. These amounts may permissibly be deducted from any wage or other payments due the employee, with any deficiency to be remitted by the employee to the College withing five work days of the demand of reimbursement.

Return to Work

Upon return from a leave, employees will be restored to their original or equivalent position with equivalent pay, benefits and other employment terms. The employee will not lose any employment benefit that accrued prior to the start of the leave. Every effort will be made to return employees on leaves in excess of 12 weeks to the same or a comparable position.

Eligibility Year

For purposes of determining eligibility for a leave, the College hereby adopts a rolling 12 month period whereby each time an employee takes family and medical leave, the remaining leave entitlement will be any balance of the 12 weeks which has not been used during the immediately preceding 12 months.

In all respects, leaves of absence under this policy shall be administered and provided for in a manner consistent with the Family and Medical leave Act of 1993 and its published regulations.

Cabinet adopted 10/96