Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Definition
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that grants an eligible employee up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a calendar year when any of the following circumstances are present:
- Birth of a child and/or to care for a newborn child;
- Placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care;
- Employee's own serious health condition;
- Care for the employee's spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition;
- FMLA leave is also granted to care for a domestic partner with a serious health condition under policy and certain collective bargaining agreements. Please see the Supervisor's Guide to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for details.
Application
To be eligible for FMLA benefits, an employee must have:
- At least 12 months of University service (need not be continuous), and
- At least 1,250 hours of work in the 12 months immediately preceding the leave.
Under the FMLA, an employee may take intermittent leave, which is leave taken in separate blocks of time. In addition to 12 weeks of unpaid leave, an eligible employee is entitled to continuation of health benefits during the leave period and restoration to the same or equivalent job if the employee returns within the period allowed under the FMLA. Although FMLA leave is unpaid, University policies and collective bargaining agreements may require or allow an employee to use accrued sick and vacation leave before the employee may go out on leave without pay.
An employee's rights under the FMLA can run concurrently with other types of leave. For example, an employee may be eligible for both Workers' Compensation and FMLA benefits because a work-incurred injury could also be a serious health condition.
Supervisor's Checklist
- Upon notice from an employee that s/he requires leave for a FMLA-qualifying reason, the department should immediately determine whether the employee meets the employment criteria for eligibility (12 months/1,250 hours).
- If the employee is not eligible, the department should immediately notify the employee and discuss other options that may be available, such as a personal leave.
- If the employee is eligible, the employee should be sent a provisional designation letter notifying the employee that the leave has been temporarily designated as leave under the FMLA until a conclusive determination can be made.
- The employee should also be provided with Family and Medical Leave forms.
- The provisional designation letter and FMLA forms should be sent to the employee within two days of notice of the need for leave.
- Immediate action is critical because the University cannot retroactively designate FMLA leave.
- When the FMLA forms are returned, the department should send a letter to the employee confirming the designation of the leave as FMLA-qualifying leave and continue to track the leave.
Note: For an employee covered under the Personnel Policies for Staff Members (PPSM), if the need for a FMLA leave that is in progress continues beyond 12 weeks, a regular status employee shall be entitled to supplemental leave for up to an additional 12 weeks or until the end of the leave year, whichever is less.
Supervisor's Guide to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)