FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE ACT FMLA. University Human Resources

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1 FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE ACT FMLA University Human Resources

2 FMLA: What it Provides Covered employers must grant an eligible employee up to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid or paid leave during any 12-month period for one or more of the following reasons: Birth/care of the employee s newborn child Placement with the employee of a son or daughter through adoption or foster care To care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition, or To take medical leave because of the employee s serious health condition

3 FMLA Eligibility To be eligible for FMLA benefits, an employee must: have worked for the employer for a total of 12 months and have worked at least 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months (at least an FTE of 65%)

4 Serious Health Condition A Serious health condition is an illness, injury, impairment, or other condition that involves either: Inpatient care (i.e., an overnight stay) in a hospital or other medical-care facility, including incapacity or subsequent treatment, or Continuing treatment by a health care provider, under defined circumstances

5 What Triggers FMLA Rights? Contact Claudia Samulski (State) or Ann Marie Davis (Research Foundation) if: An employee is to undergo surgery An employee is to have a child (including through adoption) and will be taking leave An employee has been incapacitated by an illness, injury or condition lasting four or more calendar days An employee tells you that repeated absences are related to the same health condition Employee must advise supervisor and Claudia Samulski (State)/ Ann Marie Davis (Research Foundation) of upcoming leave

6 Intermittent Leave In some circumstances, employees may be able to take FMLA leave in separate increments of time for a single qualifying reason. The employee has the obligation to provide notice in advance, where possible; and The employee must make a reasonable effort to ensure that treatments do not interfere with the employer s operation Supervisors will be notified by UHR if their employee is placed on Intermittent FMLA Employee must say if absence is FMLA related when calling in Dept contacts UHR when FMLA time is exhausted

7 Paid Leave FMLA provides the right to unpaid leave. Employees may elect to use appropriate leave credits in order to receive pay for FMLA-covered leave. Regarding State employees: Birth of a child: Sick accruals for period of disability; vacation, personal or holiday after disability period ends Adoption, foster care: Vacation, personal or holiday; UUP allows 15 sick days Care for a family member: Family sick, vacation, personal or holiday

8 Continued Paid Leave (State Employees) Employee s serious health condition: Sick, vacation, personal or holiday Qualifying exigency: Vacation, personal or holiday Care for a military service medical exigency: Family sick, vacation, personal or holiday

9 Paid Leave (Research Foundation Employees) FMLA runs concurrently with NYS Disability and is designated as such Sick accruals must be used when the leave is for the employee If the leave is for an immediate family member or placement of child due to adoption only the initial 15 days can be covered by sick accruals Other accruals can used after the initial 15 days

10 Employee Obligations Give 30-day advance notice when foreseeable, or as soon as practicable otherwise Comply with normal process for requesting leave, including notifying supervisor of absence period Fill out FMLA Request for Leave Form Submit appropriate certification of health care provider to Claudia Samulski (State) or Ann Marie Davis (RF) 120 Crofts Hall, North Campus Comply with additional requests for information, including recertification Provide return-to-work certification

11 Supervisor/Employer Obligations Maintenance of Employee Health Benefits Job restoration Confidentiality Hold employees blameless for absences Non-Interference Prohibition against retaliation Requirement to post applicable notices

12 Supervisor Obligations Consult Claudia Samulski (State) or Ann Marie Davis ( ) if you receive notice that an employee needs to take, or has been taking, leave due to a medical condition or military reason Contact Claudia Samulski (State) or Ann Marie Davis (RF) with any questions or concerns Refrain from any negative comments regarding the employee s use of leave, or use of leave in general, and maintain confidentiality

13 General Information Supervisors must not accept medical documents (HIPAA Law) Employees must provide medical documents to UHR 120 Crofts Hall, North Campus Supervisor must report suspected misuse or abuse to Claudia Samulski (State) or Ann Marie Davis (RF) UHR in Crofts Hall will follow up on suspected abuse The largest difference between how the State and RF administer this leave is time frame used to designate the leave: The State works with the calendar year RF uses a rolling calendar

14 Additional Resources on our website ter&page_user_op=view_page&page_id=633 Watch our video on FMLA

15 Contact Information State FMLA Administrator Claudia Samulski or Research Foundation Administrator Ann Marie Davis or Office of Disability Services (TTY) EDI Employee Relations

16 Questions????