1. What is the Family and Medical Leave Act?
Family Medical Leave is a Federal benefit provided to eligible employees.
A 1993 Federal Act which provides:
up to 12 work weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave
maintenance of pre-existing health benefits
Enforced by the Department of Labor
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Staff & Labor Relations

2. Staff & Labor Relations
Eligibility for FMLA
12 months service with Duke (need not be consecutive)
Must have worked at least 1,250 hours in the previous 12 month period
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Staff & Labor Relations

3. Staff & Labor Relations
When does FMLA Apply?
Birth of a child
Placement of an adopted or foster child (must be taken within 12 months of placement)
Care of a child, parent, spouse or registered same-sex spousal equivalent with a serious health condition
Serious health condition of staff member
Birth of a child- Leave to care for a newborn child must be taken berfore the end of the first 12 months following date of birth.
Adoption or foster care- Leave must be taken before the end of the first 12 months following the placement. The Act relates only to the actual placement with the eligible employee of an adopted or foster child. The act of providing foster care in and of itself is not a qualifying event.
The legislation deals with such families by tying the availability of “parental”
leave to the birth, adoption, or serious health condition of a s “son or daughter: and then defining the term “son or daughter” to mean a”a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis.
Parent is defined as a biological parent or an individual who stands or stood in loco parentis to an employee when the employee was a child.
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Staff & Labor Relations

4. Serious Health Condition
Inpatient care (overnight stay)
Incapacity more than 3 calendar days involving continuing treatment
Incapacity due to pregnancy or for prenatal care
Incapacity due to chronic serious health condition
Receiving multiple treatments for condition which, if untreated, would result in incapacity of more than 3 calendar days
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Staff & Labor Relations

5. Examples of Serious Health Conditions
Heart attack
Stroke
Severe respiratory conditions
Cancer
Childbirth and prenatal care/exams
Asthma
Diabetes
Lupus
Epilepsy
Mental illness
Back conditions requiring therapy
Severe arthritis
WC Injuries
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Staff & Labor Relations

6. What is a Health Care Provider?
Health care professional who is accepted by the employer and the health insurance provider:
Examples: podiatrists, dentists, clinical psychologists, optometrists, nurse practitioners, physicians, physician assistants, social workers, chiropractors
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Staff & Labor Relations

7. Medical Certification
Personal Illness:
confirmation that medical condition requires absence from work
duration of leave
Illness of Spouse, Child or Parent:
confirmation that medical condition requires attendance of staff member as caregiver
FMLA information should be kept in a separate file from the personnel file
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Staff & Labor Relations

8. Verifying FMLA Reasons
If Medical Certification is clear, approve (e.g. pregnancy)
If unsure if FMLA applies:
consult EOHWS who can either assess reason and/or consult staff member’s health care provider. Supervisor should not contact health care provider.
consult Staff and Labor Relations
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9. Staff & Labor Relations
Leave Options
Consecutive for 12 weeks
Intermittent
Full-time leave for less than 12 weeks
Reduced schedule by decreasing number of hours in workday or workweek
Irregularly based on medical needs, caregiver demands, appointments, etc
NOTE: Paternity & adoption leave may not be taken intermittently
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Staff & Labor Relations

10. Can FMLA be applied Retroactively?
Only if:
supervisor learns of reason for FMLA after staff member returns to work, OR
supervisor tentatively designated FMLA and is awaiting medical certification when staff member returns
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Staff & Labor Relations

11. FMLA & Attendance Policy
Absences qualifying under FMLA cannot be counted as occurrences
To ensure attendance policy is not invoked:
Staff members must inform Supervisor of intent to use FMLA 30 days prior to leave or as soon as possible but no later than within 2 days after returning to work
Notification must be provided in accordance with department/unit policies and procedures
notice "as soon as practicable" when the need to take FMLA leave is not foreseeable ("as soon as practicable" generally means at least verbal notice to the employer within one or two business days of learning of the need to take FMLA leave);
sufficient information for the employer to understand that the employee needs leave for FMLA-qualifying reasons (the employee need not mention FMLA when requesting leave to meet this requirement, but may only explain why the leave is needed); and,
where the employer was not made aware that an employee was absent for FMLA reasons and the employee wants the leave counted as FMLA leave, timely notice (generally within two business days of returning to work) that leave was taken for an FMLA-qualifying reason.
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Staff & Labor Relations

12. Staff & Labor Relations
Processing FMLA
Staff member completes Leave of Absence Request form and returns it to the supervisor/manager with the appropriate supporting documents
Supervisor/manager reviews documents and determines:
eligibility
absence is a qualifying event
Leave forms (request and hcp certification form) are on web
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13. Staff & Labor Relations
Processing FMLA
Once leave request is approved:
supervisor/manager maintains the health care provider certification or supporting documents and the Request for Leave of Absence in a secured and confidential file.
supervisor/manager sends a copy of the approved Leave Request Form to department payroll representative
department payroll representative will complete the Payroll Leave of Absence form and send both the copy of the the Payroll Leave of Absence form to Corporate Payroll.
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Staff & Labor Relations

14. Staff & Labor Relations
Processing FMLA
If there is no department payroll representative, the department supervisor/manager will complete the Payroll Leave of Absence form and send both the Payroll Leave of Absence form and a copy of the Request for Leave of Absence form to Corporate Payroll.
If the department is in the DUHS, the payroll representative or the department must notify Corporate Payroll to enter LOA into the ReporTXpress system.
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Staff & Labor Relations

15. Staff & Labor Relations
Record Keeping
Supervisor/Department must keep track of time taken
especially important for intermittent leave which may be taken in hours
Part-time staff members:
available leave is pro-rated based on normal work schedule
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16. Staff & Labor Relations
FMLA Resources
Reference Materials:
FMLA Policy, Personnel Policy Manual B-94
Leave Forms:
Policy Interpretations:
Staff & Labor Relations
Medical Certification Advice:
Employee Occupational Health & Wellness Service
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