Family Care Leave
An employee can use family care leave for the confining illness or injury (not routine medical/dental appointments) to members of the immediate family (spouse or designated individual, children, parents, parents-in-law, brothers, sisters) and any person for whom the employee is financially or physically responsible.
Once an employee exhausts any available family care leave, additional time required for the care of a family member must be taken as personal leave hours, annual leave, floating holiday, if available, or unpaid leave.
Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) – An employee is eligible for a 12-week unpaid FMLA Leave if she/he has been an employee for at least twelve (12) months and has been employed as an employee at least one thousand two hundred and fifty (1,250) hours during the twelve- (12) month period immediately preceding the leave effective date.
Recording of FMLA leave is only tracked in Human Resources and should not be entered in the time and recordkeeping system. As indicated in Step 2 of the procedure above, documentation such as the FMLA Designation Notice will explain payment during the FMLA leave.
In most instances, leaves of absences of more than three days will count as FMLA leaves.
FMLA leaves can be used for one of the following reasons:
An employee’s own serious health condition
The birth of a child, or placement of a child with you for adoption or foster care;
The need to care for the employee’s spouse, child, parent or designated individual due to his/her serious health condition
Because of a qualifying exigency arising out the fact the employee’s spouse, son or daughter, parent or designated individual is on active duty or call to active duty status in support of a contingency operation as a member of the National Guard or Reserves
Because the employee is a spouse, son or daughter, parent or next of kin of a covered service member with a serious injury or illness
An eligible employee who foresees the need for a leave of absence due to any of the above reasons should notify the Assistant Director of Human Resources, Employee and Labor Relations, as early as possible so that the absence can be scheduled at a time least disruptive to the Employer’s operations. Such an employee must also give at least thirty (30) calendar days written notice, unless impractical, in which case the employee must provide as much written notice as circumstances permit.
If the requested leave is due to the employee’s own serious health condition, the employee is first required to exhaust any available paid sick leave and short-term disability. In the event the paid sick leave and short-term disability is not available, any portion of the remaining twelve (12) weeks of leave shall be unpaid.
If the requested care is for the birth/care of a child, for the placement of a child for adoption or foster care, or to care for a spouse or designated individual, child, or parent who has a serious health condition, the employee is first required to exhaust any available paid leave. Upon exhaustion of the paid leave, any portion of the remaining twelve (12) weeks of leave shall be unpaid.
* The name of the designated individual must be on file with the Human Resources Department at least six (6) months prior to utilization of such leave.