POLICY STATEMENT 93
FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE ACT
Prepared by: Dale Johnson, Personnel Analyst
Supersedes: 4/6/95
Adopted by Council: 3/26/96
Effective: 3/26/96
POLICY PURPOSE:
To guarantee the right of an employee to family medical leave, as required by the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) hereafter referred to as "the Act".
EMPLOYEE ELIGIBILITY:
All regular employees and temporary employees who have completed at least one year of service with the Town and have, in the previous twelve months from their leave request, rendered at least 1,250 hours of service. The Town Manager (or designee) shall have final approval for all family medical leave requests.
DEFINITIONS:
Son or Daughter - biological, adopted, foster child, stepchild, legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis if the child is under eighteen or incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability.
Serious Health Condition - an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves:
any period of incapacity or treatment in connection with or a consequence of inpatient care in a hospital, hospice or residential medical care facility; or
any period of incapacity requiring absence from work or other regular daily activities for more than three (3) calendar days that also involves continuous treatment by or under the supervision of a healthcare provider; or
continuous treatment by or under the supervision of a healthcare provider for a chronic long-term health condition that is incurable or so serious that if not treated would result in a period of incapacity of more than three (3) calendar days; or
prenatal care.
Key Employee - salaried employee who is among the highest paid ten (10) percent of employees employed by the Town within 75 miles of the employee's worksite.
POLICY:
Leave Entitlement
All eligible employees are entitled to 12 work weeks of family leave, (paid, unpaid, or a combination thereof), during any "rolling" 12-month period for one or more of the following reasons:
The birth of a son or daughter of the employee, in order to care for such son or daughter
The placement of a son or daughter with the employee for adoption or foster care
The need for the employee to care for the spouse, child, or parent of the employee, when such spouse, son, daughter, or parent has a serious health condition
An employee's serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of his or her position
Spouses who are also employed by the Town are jointly entitled to 12 work weeks of family leave combined for the birth or placement of a child for adoption or foster care, and to care for a child or parent (but not a parent "in law") who has a serious health condition.
The right to FMLA leave for the birth and/or placement of a child into an employee's family may only be taken within the twelve (12) month period after the date of the birth or placement of the child.
Intermittent/Reduced Hours leave
In the case of leave for serious health conditions, FMLA leave may be taken intermittently or on a reduced hours basis only if such leave is medically necessary. Employees may take leave intermittently by taking leave in blocks of time, or by reducing their normal weekly or daily work schedule, subject to the approval of the Department Director and Town Manager.
Job Restoration
Upon return from approved family medical leave, the Town guarantees that the employee will return either to the position he or she left when the leave began, or to an equivalent position with the same benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment.
"Key" Employee Exception: Under specified and limited circumstances of "the Act", the Town may refuse to reinstate certain highly-paid "key" employees after using family leave. In order to do so, the Town must have completed the steps required by "the Act" which are outlined in the FMLA standard procedure.
Maintenance of Health Benefits
The Town shall maintain the employee's group medical coverage in force at the beginning of the leave period for the duration of the approved leave. Employees will be required to pay their share of health insurance premiums during any period of unpaid leave. Failure of the employee to pay his/her share of the health insurance premium may result in loss of coverage. If the employee fails to return to work for at least 30 calendar days following FMLA leave for a reason other than: (1) the continuation, recurrence, or onset of a serious health condition which would entitle them to FMLA leave; or (2) other circumstances beyond their control, they will be required to reimburse the Town for health insurance premiums paid on their behalf during any period of unpaid FMLA leave.
Notification of FMLA Leave
An approved FMLA Request Form will serve as written notification to the employee of the leave time that will be counted towards the employee's available twelve (12) weeks. If written notice is not given to the employee by the date of expiration of the leave, the leave will not be counted as FMLA leave.