Employee Family and Medical Leave (HR13)

Employee Family and Medical Leave (HR13)

SUBJECT:
Employee Family and Medical Leave

PURPOSE:
To provide unpaid leaves of absence when employees need to attend to family and medical matters and to ensure compliance with federal and state laws regarding family and medical leaves.

POLICY AND PROCEDURE:

Annual Entitlement : The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides up to 12 weeks of FMLA time off per 12 month period. The rolling 12 month period starts on the first day the employee is on FMLA. For the birth or placement of a child for adoption or foster care, spouses who are both employed by Graceland University are limited to a total of 12 weeks of FMLA, rather than 12 weeks each.

Medical Certification: Employees requesting FMLA to care for a seriously ill spouse, child or parent or due to their own serious health condition must provide Human Resources with the Medical Certification Form completed by the treating physician within 15 days of receipt of this notice, unless it is not practicable under the circumstances despite your diligent, good faith efforts. If the Certification is not received in a timely manner or if the Certification does not indicate eligibility for FMLA after reasonable opportunity to cure any deficiencies, the employee will not be eligible for FMLA.

Compensation: FMLA leave is unpaid. Graceland has approved the use of all accrued necessary leave and vacation time, in that priority order, during approved FMLA leaves. Paid time off will count towards the 12 weeks of allowable FMLA leave. After exhausting all necessary leave and vacation time, employees may apply for additional necessary leave hours from the Shared Leave Bank.

Benefit Plans: Graceland University will continue benefit coverage while the employee is on a paid FMLA, the same as for an active employee. When employees enter the unpaid status of FMLA, the employee is responsible for paying the employee’s share of the benefit premiums to the Graceland Accounting Office by the 15th of the month prior to coverage. If payments are more than 30 days late, coverage may lapse. Any premium increase during the leave will be passed on to the employee just as it is to active employees.

Fitness to Return to Work : If FMLA is due to the employee’s own serious health condition, certification from a health provider of fitness to return to work must be provided before return to work will be permitted.

Restoration of Job: Upon return from FMLA, employees may return to either the same position held when FMLA began or a position with equivalent benefits and pay. Ordinarily, employees will be restored to the same position even though they do not have the right to the same position. Eliminate last sentence?

Failure to Return to Work: Graceland may recover the employee’s share of any premium payments missed by the employee during FMLA when an employee misses a premium and Graceland pays the employee’s share. Graceland may also recover its share of the premium during a period of unpaid FMLA from an employee if the employee fails to return to work after the employee’s FMLA entitlement has been exhausted or expires, unless the reason the employee does not return is due to 1) the continuation, recurrence, or onset of a serious health condition which would entitle the employee to leave under FMLA; or 2) other circumstances beyond the employee’s control. COBRA eligibility will start on the day of notification that the employee will not be returning to work.