Human Resources Policies

POLICY: Non-Family and Medical Leave
Policy Number: HR-33.01
Effective Date: July 2002
Revisions: June 2002, July 2002
Responsible Officer: Associate Dean, Planning and Operations

PURPOSE:
This policy was established so eligible employees could request time off to a maximum of 12 weeks, with or without pay, for an event that qualifies under the Family & Medical Leave Act. After the approved leave is exhausted, an employee may return to her/his position if it is still open.

I. POLICY:
The College of Medicine makes leave available for qualified reasons to any regular full-time or part-time employee not eligible for Family and Medical Leave (FMLA Leave) or needing additional time off after the exhaustion of the twelve weeks of FMLA Leave.

II. ELIGIBILITY:
Non-FMLA may be granted to any regular full-time or part-time employee not eligible for Family and Medical Leave (FMLA Leave) or needing additional time off after the exhaustion of the twelve weeks of FMLA Leave.

III. DEFINITIONS:
Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) is an employee's absence from work due to:
- the birth of a child and to care for the newborn child;
- the adoption of a child, or placement of a foster child with the employee and to care for the newly placed child;
- Leave to care for a newborn child or for a newly placed child must conclude within 12 months after the birth or placement.
- to provide care to an immediate family member (spouse, parent, son or daughter) with a serious health condition (including a child 18 years or older who is incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act), and
- when an employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition. It includes a period of disability due to pregnancy and/or post-partum. Serious Health Condition is an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves:
- inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility;
- a period of incapacity requiring absence of more than three calendar days that involves continuing treatment by a health care provider.

IV. GUIDELINES:
A. Non-FMLA cannot exceed twenty-four weeks including any Family and Medical Leave already taken.

B. Intermittent leave is available for non-FMLA with Department approval.

C. Any applicable, available paid time must be exhausted, including vacation and sick leave. Accruals for sick and vacation time cease during an unpaid leave of absence.

D. Benefits
1. Benefits will continue until the end of the month in which the employee exhausts all available applicable paid time off. Should the employee wish to continue her/his benefit coverages, he/she may do so at personal expense by paying the full cost of the program, plus a 2% administrative charge.

2. An employee who was participating in a dependent-care or health-care reimbursement account may continue to participate in accordance with the plan provisions.

3. Retirement plan contributions will continue in accordance with the provisions specified in the respective plans.

4. An employee's eligibility for benefits not specifically permitted under this policy is suspended for the duration of the unpaid leave.

E. Within fifteen days of first giving notice of need for non-FMLA, the employee must provide to Human Resources written medical certification from a health care provider documenting the medical condition and the expected length of the leave.

F. The College of Medicine has no obligation to hold open the same position which the employee held before non-FMLA. An employee returning from non- FMLA may return to her/his former position should the position still be available.

G. Before returning to work, the employee will submit her/his health care provider's determination to Human Resources. This determination must state that the employee is medically able to return to work and any limitations to her/his position. The College of Medicine reserves the right to have the employee cleared by a certified health care provider chosen by the College of Medicine as fit to return to work.

H. An employee on a Non-FMLA will not have any rights or privileges that s/he did not have prior to beginning the leave.

I. An employee must keep the supervisor/manager and Human Resources aware of any changes in the scheduled date of return.

J. An employee who fails to contact her/his supervisor/manager and Human Resources by the leave ending date will be considered to have abandoned the position and resigned without notice.

K. Failure to provide the required documentation, including recertification will result in termination of the leave and separation from employment

L. An employee on a leave will be terminated if he/she accepts other employment.

V. PROCEDURES:
A. Requests for leave must be made at least thirty days before the beginning of the leave, if foreseeable. The employee should use the form Request for Leave of Absence: Non-FMLA Form. If the need for leave cannot be reasonably foreseen within thirty days, the employee must give such notice as is practicable.

B. The Human Resources Department will complete an Employer Response to Request for Leave of Absence: Non-FMLA Form, indicating the requested dates of the leave. Human Resources will advise the supervisor/manager of approved leave dates, and this form will be filed in a confidential medical file in the Human Resources Department. The employee will also be sent a Certification of Health Care Provider form, if applicable and not previously provided.

C. The employee will return the completed Certification Form to Human Resources, who will judge the certification either acceptable or unacceptable. The College of Medicine reserves the right to have the absence excuse reviewed by an outside source. The Certification form will be placed in the
employee's confidential medical file. Human Resources will then send a Medical Certification Response form to the employee with a copy to her/his supervisor/manager. Should the certification be judged unacceptable, the department will obtain permission from the employee for Human Resources to contact the employee's health care provider for clarification.

D. When a non-FMLA Leave is approved, the Human Resources Department will enter information collected from the supervisor/manager about the leave in the human resources information system. Human Resources will track time until the leave is exhausted.

E. Absences occurring during approved non-FMLA will not be included when considering an employee's attendance record. These absences should be documented, but should not be considered as an occurrence when determining absenteeism/lateness for disciplinary purposes.

F. An employee wishing to return from a non-FMLA Leave before the scheduled date of return will notify Human Resources and her/his supervisor/manager at least fifteen days before the new date of return.

Additional Information: Inquiries regarding this policy can be directed to the Human Resources Department.