Family and Medical Leave (FMLA)

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that provides eligible employees with unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons.

How to Apply for Family Medical Leave

 

Eligible employees may take up to 12 workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for one or more of the following reasons:

  • The birth of a son or daughter or placement of a son or daughter with the employee for adoption or foster care, and to bond with the newborn or newly placed child; (see also Paid Parental Leave or Faculty Serious Illness & Parental Leave)
  • To care for a spouse, son, daughter, or parent who has a serious health condition, including incapacity due to pregnancy and for prenatal medical care;
  • A serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his or her job, including incapacity due to pregnancy and for prenatal medical care; or
  • Any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that a spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a military member on covered active duty or call to covered active duty status.

An eligible employee may also take up to 26 workweeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness when the employee is the spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin of the service member. An eligible employee is limited to a combined total of 26 workweeks of leave for any FMLA-qualifying reasons during the single 12-month period.

 

Eligibility

An employee’s eligibility for family and medical leave shall be made based on the employee’s months of service and hours of work as of the date leave is to commence.

An employee is eligible if:

  • Full-time or part-time (half-time or more) permanent, probationary, or time-limited with 12 months cumulative service with State government, including temporary service and has been in pay status at least 1040 hours during the previous 12-months, or,
  • Temporary, intermittent, or part-time (less than half-time) with 12 months cumulative service and has been in pay status at least 1250 hours during the previous 12 months.

Faculty should refer to Faculty Serious Illness & Parental Leave for additional details.

 

Requesting Leave Under the FMLA

Employees must submit the Family and Medical Leave Request Form to the HR Benefits Office for all FMLA leave qualifying reasons.  If the need for leave is known, an employee should submit the request form at least 30 days in advance of the beginning date of leave.  If the need for leave is less than 30 days in advance, the employee should submit the request form as soon as able (generally either the day the need for leave is determined or the following workday).

The request form should be submitted when an absence is expected to last longer than 3 workdays due to a serious illness or other qualifying FMLA leave reason.

Once a request form has been submitted, the HR Benefits Office will notify an employee of their eligibility for FMLA leave within 5 business days.  If deemed eligible, the HR Benefits Office will provide the employee with their rights and responsibilities, as well as the Department of Labor medical certification, which is to be completed by the healthcare provider.

 

Administration of Leave

FMLA Leave is administered through the HR Benefits Office. For questions about this leave type, any employee should contact their HR Benefits Consultant.

 

Leave Without Pay

For periods of leave without pay, employees must contact their HR Benefits Consultant to make arrangement to pay their benefit premiums. Otherwise, if payments are not received timely, benefits may be terminated due to non-payment.

 

Helpful Resources