Get documents about "FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (FMLA)
Document Sample
BOARD OF EDUCATION CLASSIFIED STAFF
CINCINNATI CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT 4430.01/page 1 of 6
FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (“FMLA”)
The District follows Federal law in providing up to twelve (12) weeks of family and
medical leave during any twelve (12) month period to eligible employees in
accordance with the provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA).
This leave may be unpaid or paid, depending on the circumstances as specified in
this policy.
A. ELIGIBILITY: To qualify for family and medical leave under this
policy, the employee must meet all of the following criteria:
1. The employee must have worked for at least 1250 hours
during the 12-month period immediately before the date
when the leave is scheduled to begin.
2. The twelve (12) months do not have to be consecutive for B.3
and B.4, below. Intermittent leave for B.1 and B.2, below, is
subject to District approval.
B. BASES FOR FAMILY OR MEDICAL LEAVES: Family or medical
leaves may be taken for one of the following reasons:
1. the birth of the employee’s child and to take care of that
child;
2. the placement of a child for adoption or foster care;
3. to care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health
condition; or
4. the serious health condition of the employee which prevents
him/her from performing the essential functions of his/her
position; or
5. the placement of a family member who is a National Guard or
Reserve service-member being on or called to active military
duty; or
6. to care for a family member who is a service-member with a
serious illness or injury incurred during active duty where the
condition.
ADOPTED 8-24-09
BOARD OF EDUCATION CLASSIFIED STAFF
CINCINNATI CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT 4430.01/page 2 of 6
With the exception of B.6, an eligible employee may take up to
twelve (12) weeks of leave under this policy during any 12-month
period. This 12-month period is measured forward from the date an
employee’s first FMLA begins.
Employees taking leave under B.6 may take up to twenty-six (26)
weeks of unpaid leave in a single 12-month period. Leave under B.6
is measured on a per-covered service-member, per-injury basis. As
such, an employee may be entitled to take more than one period of
Military Caregiver Leave during the course of his/her employment if
the leave is necessary to care for a different covered service-member
or to care for the same service-member with a subsequent illness or
injury.
If both husband and wife work for the District, and each qualifies to
take family leave for the birth of a child, adoption, or placement in
foster care, or to care for a parent (not a parent in-law) with a
serious health condition, they may only take a total of twelve (12)
weeks leave (rather than twelve (12) weeks each). Family leave
taken for the birth, adoption or placement of a child must be taken
during the first twelve (12) months after the arrival of the child.
C. SPECIAL RULES FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS: Special Federal rules
apply to School Districts regarding the end of the school year and
FMLA leave.
For employees whose principal function it is to teach and instruct
students (teachers, athletic coaches, drivers education instructors,
and special education assistants, such as signers for the hearing
impaired, etc.) who do not work between school years, FMLA leave
will only apply to scheduled work days and not counted over
summer vacation. (See rules 1., 2., 3., 4., and 5. below.)
NOTE: Principals, teacher assistants (I.A.’s), counselors, cafeteria
workers, building service workers, etc. are primarily
non-instructional employees. If these employees are eligible under A
above and normally do not work (are employed by the District)
during the period between school years, then the first rule below 1.
applies but rules 2., 3., 4., and 5. do not apply.
1. Eligible employees who end the school year on FMLA can
continue FMLA at the beginning of the next year provided
they have not used all of the twelve (12) weeks of their annual
FMLA leave as described elsewhere in this policy.
ADOPTED 8-24-09
BOARD OF EDUCATION CLASSIFIED STAFF
CINCINNATI CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT 4430.01/page 3 of 6
2. If an eligible employee begins FMLA leave more than five (5)
weeks before the end of the term, and the leave lasts at least
three (3) weeks, the District has the right to require the
teacher to remain on leave for the rest of the term.
3. If an eligible employee begins FMLA leave five (5) weeks or
less before the end of the term and the leave will last more
than two (2) weeks for a reason other than his/her own
serious health condition, the District has the right to require
the eligible employee to remain on leave for the rest of the
term.
4. If an eligible employee begins FMLA leave with three (3) weeks
or less before the end of the term and the leave will last more
than five (5) working days for a reason other than his/her
own serious health condition, the District has the right to
require the eligible employee to remain on leave for the rest of
the term.
5. Eligible employees who want to take foreseeable leave
because of planned medical treatment and the leave is more
than twenty (20) percent of the total number of working days
in the period over which the leave would extend are subject to
being transferred to an alternate position until the end of the
school year or required to take the entire period of leave at
the discretion of the District.
D. EMPLOYEE BENEFITS DURING LEAVE:
1. Any employee who is granted an approved leave of absence
under this policy is advised to provide for the retention of
his/her group health insurance coverage by arranging to pay
the employee contributions, if any, during the period of
unpaid absence.
2. In the event that an employee elects not to return to work
upon completion of approved unpaid leave of absence, the
District may recover from the employee the cost of any
payments made to maintain the employee’s coverage, unless
the failure to return to work was for reasons beyond the
employee’s control. Benefit entitlements based upon length of
service will be calculated as of the last paid work day prior to
the start of the unpaid leave of absence.
ADOPTED 8-24-09
BOARD OF EDUCATION CLASSIFIED STAFF
CINCINNATI CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT 4430.01/page 4 of 6
E. ATTENDANCE POLICY AND FMLA LEAVE: The use of FMLA leave
will not be counted against the employee’s attendance record.
F. EMPLOYEE STATUS AFTER LEAVE: The District will restore
employees returning from leave to the same or equivalent position
and benefits.
G. USE OF PAID AND UNPAID LEAVE: If the employee has accrued
paid leave, the employee must substitute accrued paid leave first
and take the remainder of the twelve (12) weeks as unpaid leave.
The employee must substitute accrued paid leave for unpaid FMLA
leave. The substituted paid accrued leave runs concurrently with
the unpaid FMLA leave.
If the leave is taken because of the serious health condition of the
employee or a family member, the employee must use available sick
leave. All vacation time must be exhausted before unpaid leave is
authorized unless the employee returns to work.
H. INTERMITTENT LEAVE OR REDUCED SCHEDULED LEAVE: If
medically necessary for a serious health condition of an employee or
his/her spouse, child, or parent, leave may be taken in twelve (12)
consecutive weeks or used intermittently. It may, in some cases, be
used to reduce the work week or work day, resulting in a reduced
hour schedule. In all cases leave may not exceed twelve (12) weeks
over a twelve (12) month time period. (also see Section C.5.)
Intermittent leave for the birth of the employee’s child and to take
care of that child, as well as the placement of a child for adoption or
foster care, is subject to the District’s approval.
If scheduling medical treatment, the employee must consult with
their employer and make a reasonable effort to schedule such
treatment so as not to unduly disrupt the employer's operations.
The employer and employee shall attempt to work out a schedule
that meets the employee's needs without disrupting the employer's
operations.
The District may temporarily transfer an employee to an alternate
position, with equivalent pay and benefits, if the alternate position
would better accommodate the reduced work schedule.
ADOPTED 8-24-09
BOARD OF EDUCATION CLASSIFIED STAFF
CINCINNATI CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT 4430.01/page 5 of 6
I. CERTIFICATION OF SERIOUS HEALTH CONDITION: When an
employee requests FMLA leave, the employer may require the
employee to obtain certification from a health care provider.
Certification forms can be obtained by contacting the Human
Resources Compliance Specialist at (513) 363-0152.
When any part of the FMLA approved leave (either personal or
family) is unpaid, certification will be processed in the following
manner. The employer shall require medical certification as
required by FMLA to support a claim for an employee’s own health
condition. This certification must include a statement the employee
is unable to perform the essential functions of his/her position. If
family leave is taken because of a serious medical condition to care
for a seriously ill child, spouse or parent, the employer shall request
that the employee provide medical certification of the medical
condition, and include the amount of time the employee is needed to
provide care. Department of Labor Form WH-380 will be required
for provision of medical certification information. These forms are
available by contacting the Human Resources Department at
(513) 363-0152.
The District may require, at its expense, a second opinion regarding
the serious medical condition. The District may designate the
health care provider of their choosing to administer the second
opinion. If a dispute exists between the two (2) opinions, a third
opinion may be obtained, at District expense, and this opinion will
be binding on the District and employee. Should a third opinion be
necessary, the employee and employer must act in good faith to
mutually designate a health care provider to administer the third
opinion.
All completed certification forms must be sent to the Human
Resources Compliance Specialist. Any questions about the
certification procedure should be directed to the Compliance
Specialist at (513) 363-0152.
In the event the employee fails to provide the medical opinion of the
second or third healthcare provider, if applicable, any leave taken by
the employee is not FMLA leave.
ADOPTED 8-24-09
BOARD OF EDUCATION CLASSIFIED STAFF
CINCINNATI CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT 4430.01/page 6 of 6
J. NOTIFICATION AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS: When the need
for leave is foreseeable, such as the birth or adoption of a child, or
planned medical treatment, the employee must provide reasonable
prior notice, and make efforts to schedule leave so as not to disrupt
District operations. In cases of illness, the employee will be required
to report periodically (every thirty (30) days) on his/her leave status
and intention to return to work to their supervisor. When an
employee will be absent for an FMLA-qualifying absence, the
employee must follow the department or school's normal reporting
procedures.
K. PROCEDURES FOR REQUESTING LEAVE: Employees may request
FMLA leave by contacting the Human Resources Compliance
Specialist at (513) 363-0152. When leave is requested, the District
will advise the employee of the outcome of the request within five (5)
business days, or request that the employee obtain certification of a
serious health condition. The employee will be provided with a
certification form to present to their health care provider.
ADOPTED 8-24-09
Related docs
