 |
| Family leave Policy on Family and Medical Leave Availability of Leave. In keeping with the requirements of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, an eligible employee may take up to 12 work weeks of family and/or medical leave (FMLA leave) in any 12-month period for one or more of the following purposes: • To care for a newborn son or daughter, a recently adopted child,
or a recently placed foster child; Employees who wish to take FMLA leave on an intermittent basis or stretch their leave by working on a reduced schedule need to show medical necessity or otherwise obtain the consent of their immediate supervisors. When employees request intermittent leave because of a birth or because of the placement of a child with them for adoption or foster care, supervisors will consider how the request for intermittent leave or reduced hours will affect the work output of the units they supervise. Special rule. The 12-week maximum per employee per year applies to couples, rather than individual employees, if both members of a married couple work for Saint Joseph’s College and the leave is for the purpose of caring for a new or sick family member.
Leave requested because of an employee’s own ill health is not subject to this limitation. Eligibility. To be eligible for leave, an employee must have worked at Saint Joseph’s College for one full year. In addition, the employee must have worked an average of 25 or more hours a week or otherwise worked a total of at least 1,250 hours during the 12 months preceding the leave. Giving Notice of Need for Leave. Where possible, employees are required to give their immediate supervisors 30 days’ notice of their expected need for family leave. Employees who do not themselves have 30 days’ notice of their need for leave are required to give their supervisors as much notice as is practicable. Employees on leave shall call the human resources department periodically to report on their expected return dates. Providing Evidence of Need for Leave. Every employee requesting leave will complete an FMLA Leave Request form. If leave is needed because of the employee’s or a family member’s health condition, the form must be accompanied by a doctor’s certificate. We may request a second opinion in some cases. Pay During Leave. Saint Joseph’s College provides paid earned time and long term illness, in accordance with the terms communicated to employees. Employees are required on commencing FMLA leave simultaneously to take any paid leave for which they are eligible, including earned time and long term illness. The first five days of leave will be charged to earned time, subsequent weeks will be charged to long term illness until depleted, remaining weeks will then be charged to earned time. Once paid leave is exhausted, the employee goes on unpaid leave. Paid and unpaid leave both count toward the 12-week limit. Benefits During Leave. Health care benefits will be continued during leave. Employees on family leave will not be charged more than other employees for health insurance premiums, but they must arrange to pay their share of premiums during leave. Earned time and long term illness benefits shall not accrue during leave. Return From Leave. Employees returning from leave will be restored to their former jobs and pay, wherever practicable, and receive all accrued benefits. Where the employee’s former job is not available, the employee shall be restored to an equivalent position. Saint Joseph’s College reserves the right not to rehire an employee if rehire would cause substantial economic harm to the business. Fitness-to-work certificate. Employees who take leave because of personal health problems will be required to provide certificates from their health care providers attesting that they are able to perform the essential functions of their jobs without injuring themselves or others. Key employees. Although higher-paid employees (generally those in the top 10 percent of pay for their local area) are as eligible for family leave as other employees, we reserve our right under the law to deny reinstatement to key employees if doing so would cause substantial and grievous economic injury. Employees whose job restoration is likely to be denied will be so informed when they request leave. If our judgment that reinstatement would cause the business economic injury is made after leave commences, the key employee will be so informed and will be given a reasonable opportunity to return to work at that time. Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis and must take into account the impact on business operations of the absence of a key employee. Taking More Than 12 Weeks of Leave. It is not fair to our other employees or to our customers when we keep jobs open indefinitely. Ordinarily, unless state law requires otherwise, employees who fail to return to work after exhausting their 12 weeks of FMLA leave will be subject to discharge. Extensions. Employees who because of disability remain temporarily
unable to perform their jobs after exhausting FMLA leave may request extensions
of leave
|
|