FMLA Policy and Procedures

Eligibility
An employee will be eligible to seek a Family and Medical Leave if (1) the employee has worked for the City for at least 12 months, and (2) the employee has worked for at least 1,250 hours during the 12 months before the leave. In some circumstances employees who do not meet these conditions may be eligible to take a eight-week leave for the purpose of giving birth to or adopting a child (as determined under the Parental Leave Policy).

Types of Family and Medical Leave
Employees may qualify for Family and Medical Leave for any of the following reasons:

• The birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child, and for the care of that child (leave must be completed within 12 months of the child’s birth, adoption or foster care placement);
• To care for a seriously ill or injured spouse, parent, or child under age 18 (or child 18 years old or over who is incapable of self-care);
• Because of an illness or injury that makes the employee unable to perform his/her job.

Military Caregiver Leave (also known as Covered Service Member Leave)
Up to 26 weeks of leave in a single 12-month period to care for a covered service member recovering from a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty on active duty. Eligible employees are entitled to a combined total of up to 26 weeks of all types of FMLA leave during the single 12-month period.

Qualifying Exigency Leave
Up to 12 weeks of leave for certain qualifying exigencies arising out of a covered military member’s active duty status, or notification of an impending call or order to active duty status, in support of a contingency operation, and the injury or illness must be a “serious health condition.” A “serious health condition” means any illness, injury or impairment that involves one or more of the following:

• inpatient hospitalization;
• continuing treatment by a health care provider due to incapacity caused by a health condition that lasts for more than three days and requires health care visits or continuing treatment;
• pregnancy or prenatal care;
• a chronic, serious health condition that requires periodic visits for health care; or
• a permanent or long-term condition requiring medical supervision

Notice and Scheduling of Leave
An employee who plans to take leave because of planned medical treatment must make an effort to schedule the treatment to reduce the disruption to your department, subject to the health care provider’s approval. In general, an employee should consult with his/her supervisor to explore alternatives. At least 30 days’ written notice of the leave should be given to the Supervisor and Human Resources, whenever possible. If an employee cannot give the full amount of advance notice, s/he should give notice of the need for leave as soon as is practical.

Confirmation of Leave
Employees requiring leave must provide the Human Resources Director with the reason for the requested leave so that it can be determined that the employee qualifies for leave. After an employee gives notice of his/her intent to take a Family and Medical Leave, the Human Resources Director will give the employee a memorandum confirming receipt of the notice of the leave, which sets forth some of the basic procedures and responsibilities of both the employee and the City.

Employees requesting a leave for personal or family medical reasons are generally required to provide medical certification. Under most circumstances, medical certification must be provided within 15 calendar days. Further medical verification may be required during the leave, depending on the circumstances. Moreover, employees on leave may be contacted periodically for updates concerning their status and intent to return to work. Employees are expected to respond fully to such requests for updates.

Length of Leave and Restoration Rights
In general, an employee is entitled to a maximum of 12 weeks of Family and Medical Leave during any 12-month period. The 12-month period is a rolling period, measured backward from the date an employee last used any leave under this policy.

While on unpaid Family and Medical Leave, employees do not accrue additional vacation, sick leave or personal time. However, the employee will not lose any benefit rights to the extent that those rights accrued before the leave period.

An employee will not be entitled to more favorable employment terms as a result of taking Family and Medical Leave. Thus, the employee will be subject to the same pay or benefit reductions or other adverse actions, including layoff, that s/he would have experienced had s/he not been on a Family and Medical Leave.

Certification before Return
Before an employee may return from a leave that has continued for at least five calendar days, the employee’s health care provider may be required to certify that the employee is able to resume his/her job.

Coordination with available Paid Leave Time
Family and Medical Leave is unpaid leave. To the extent that an employee has paid leave for unused sick, vacation or personal time available, it is City policy to require the employee to use the paid leave. Any use of available paid leave will run concurrently with, and not in addition to, the Family and Medical Leave.

Maintenance of Health Benefits
During a Family and Medical Leave, the City will continue the employee’s medical and life insurance coverage, provided that the employee pays the regular employee share of such coverage on a timely basis. During any paid leave, the employee share of the premiums will be deducted from the employee’s pay. During the unpaid portion of a Family and Medical Leave, the employee will be required to pay the employee share, either prior to commencing unpaid leave, or through a special billing arrangement while on unpaid leave. The Human Resources Office should be contacted by the employee prior to going on unpaid leave to make the appropriate payment arrangements. If any payment due is more than 30 days late, the City may cease providing the benefits until the employee returns to work. Upon returning to work the employee will be reinstated to the insurance program back to the termination date and will be charged the total employee amount.