Maternity / Parental Leave

Transcription

1 Maternity / Parental Leave FMLA, Paid Family Leave, Short-Term Disability Insurance, medical leave, parental leave, SDI, integration / restoration of hours Help! I m confused! It s OK - you re not alone! There is a lot to think about as you prepare to have your baby, and we re here to help. This document will walk you through the important things to think about before your baby is born. It probably can t answer every single question you may have, but hopefully, it will give you a good overview of what you need to know about medical and parental leave before your baby arrives. If you have any questions after your read this material, please contact Employee Benefits at The information included in this document is organized into four main areas: I. Taking a Leave of Absence From the County II. Your Benefits While on a Leave of Absence III. Getting Paid While on a Leave of Absence IV. Additional Things to Think About Before Your Baby Arrives I. Taking a Leave of Absence From the County How much time can I take off from work before my baby arrives? A pregnant employee can take a medical leave before the baby arrives so long as she has a note from her doctor. Most medical leaves start 2 4 weeks before the employee s due date. If there are complications, a doctor may prescribe a longer medical leave. While on medical leave, an employee must use accrued sick leave hours first, and sick leave must be exhausted before she can use other types of leave (vacation, comp. time, holiday, etc.). Expectant fathers and employees who plan to adopt a child may also take time off prior to the baby s arrival, but this will be personal time (vacation, holiday) and not sick leave. You need to request this time off just as you would any vacation request. How do I get my medical leave approved? You must fill out the Leave of Absence (LOA) form to have your medical leave approved. The form is available from your department s Payroll Coordinator or on the County s intranet website. The form must be signed by your supervisor and Department Head and then forwarded to Human Resources, along with your doctor s note. How much time can I take off from work after the baby arrives? Your medical leave typically lasts for 6 weeks following the birth of your child. Your medical leave may be longer if you have a c-section (typically 8 weeks following the birth of a child). Again, you must use your sick leave hours while on medical leave. If you exhaust your available sick leave hours while on medical leave, you can then use other available leave types (vacation, holiday, comp time) to remain in a paid status. What happens after my medical leave ends? If you want to continue caring for your child at home after your medical leave ends, you can take a parental leave from the County. A parental leave can last up to 6 months, at the discretion of your department. Parental leave begins on the first day of your medical leave end. Your Supervisor and Department Director must approve a parental leave via the LOA Form. While on parental leave, you can

2 use any combination of leave types (vacation, comp time, holiday, etc.). County policy also allows you to use up to 30 additional days of sick leave at any point while on parental leave. How does the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) affect my medical and parental leave? FMLA is a federal law which requires employers to provide an eligible employee up to 12 weeks of time off during any 12-month period for the birth and care of the newborn child of the employee. FMLA also requires employers to continue paying its portion of health premiums during the time the employee is on leave (up to 12 weeks). To be eligible for FMLA, employees must have been employed by the County for at least one year and have worked 1,250 regular hours within the last 12 months. FMLA begins the first day an employee is on leave (either medical or parental leave). If you are eligible for FMLA, you have the right to take up to 12 weeks of time off from work. During these 12 weeks, FMLA guarantees your right to be on leave, continue your benefits (more on benefits later) and grants you the right to return to your same job. Is there a limit as to how long I can be on leave? You cannot be on a leave from the County for more than one year. Can I use Voluntary Time-Off (VTO) to extend my leave? Yes. Through the VTO program, you can apply for additional time-off hours to extend your maternity leave. You pay for these additional hours by a reduction in your paycheck. Your department has the discretion to approve or reject your VTO application. Please note that participating in the VTO program requires that you remain in paid status. If you plan to go into an unpaid status during your maternity leave, you should not enroll in the VTO program. See the VTO Fact Sheet at (click on Voluntary Time Off Program) for more information. Can I go on unpaid status and save my vacation, sick, holiday, and comp time? No. You must first exhaust all of your paid time (vacation, sick, holiday, comp, VTO) prior to going on unpaid status. II. Your Benefits While on a Leave of Absence What happens to my benefits when I am on a medical or parental leave? While on paid leave (i.e. you are using sick, vacation, comp or holiday time), your benefits continue through the County. The County continues to contribute to your health, dental, vision and life insurance just as if you were actively working and you continue to pay your portion of benefits through the deductions in your bi-weekly paycheck. However, if you run out of paid leave time while out, you are responsible for paying both your portion and the County s portion of benefits, except in the following circumstances: FMLA If you run out of paid time during the 12 weeks of FMLA, the County will continue to pay its portion of benefits until the end of the 12 weeks. You are responsible for paying your portion during this time (the amount typically taken out of your bi-weekly paycheck) in order to keep your health benefits.

3 Medical leave If you are on a medical leave and you run out of paid time, the County will continue to pay its portion of your benefits for a period of months equal to the number of years you have worked at the County. In other words, if you worked for the County for 5 years, the County will pay its portion of benefits for 5 months. While you are in an unpaid status you are responsible for paying your portion during that time (the amount typically taken out of your biweekly paycheck) in order to keep your health benefits. Once you are on unpaid status, the County will bill you on a monthly basis for your portion of benefit costs (and the County portion if applicable). Do I need to keep my benefits while on leave? No, you can choose to drop any or all of your benefits at any time while on leave. You can always re-enroll when you come back to the County within the first 31 days, otherwise you will have to wait until the annual Open Enrollment period (October) to do so. Special circumstances: If you choose to drop your medical plan while on leave, you should make sure that your new baby is added to your health plan prior to doing so. When you re-enroll upon returning to work, you will only be allowed to re-enroll those dependents who were on your health insurance plan at the time you discontinued coverage. If you choose to drop your Supplemental Life Insurance while on leave and you decide to re-enroll in the County s Supplemental Life Insurance program when you return, you will need to complete a Medical History Form. Standard Life Insurance can approve or deny coverage based on its assessment of your medical history. If you plan to retire and want to be eligible for the County s retiree health plan, you must continue your health coverage, uninterrupted, while on leave until your retirement application is approved. III. Getting Paid While on a Leave of Absence What is State Disability Insurance (SDI) and am I eligible for SDI payments while on leave? SDI, administered by the State of California, provides income to employees who are unable to work because of a non work-related illness, injury or pregnancy. SDI provides eligible employees with a percentage of pay to replace lost wages. Certain County employees (represented by unions) are automatically enrolled in SDI through bi-weekly payroll deductions. The easiest way to determine if you are eligible for SDI is to look on your paycheck deduction stub for a State Dis Ins deduction. Management, Confidential and Attorneys do not participate in SDI but have an alternative voluntary plan into which they may choose to contribute (see Expanded Disability Insurance below). Pregnant employees who are eligible for SDI can receive SDI payments from the State of California for the period of time they are on a medical leave per their doctor s note. You must make your claim no earlier than 9 days but no later than 49 days after the first day of your medical leave. For more information about SDI, contact the Controller s Office, at

4 How do SDI payments work with my regular County pay? In addition to your SDI payment, the Controller s Office restores any time you have used while on leave and receiving SDI benefit payments (sick leave, vacation, comp time and holiday time). Sick leave is restored first and then other time in the order used by pay period. Vacation, comp and holiday time is only restored if you complete and submit the Restoration Form to the Controller s office. VTO hours are not eligible to be restored. The restoration process gives you some of your time back that you used while on leave. The Controller s office determines how much your SDI check is worth in hours and puts those hours back in your time balances. Example: If your hourly salary is $25/hour and your SDI benefit payment is $1,000, the Controller s Office will divide the $1,000 SDI benefit payment by the $25 hourly rate, and restore 40 hours of sick leave to your time balance. SDI payments are integrated with your County pay. This means that, although you will receive a County paycheck and an SDI payment, the total amount you will receive from both checks will not be more than your regular bi-weekly pay. The amount of your SDI check will have been subtracted from your County check. Example: If your regular bi-weekly pay is $2,000 and your SDI benefit amount is $1,000, you will receive $1,000 SDI payment and $1,000 from the County to equal your regular bi-weekly pay of $2,000. How do I file a claim for SDI? SDI claim forms are available for pickup at the Controller s Office or by calling I have Expanded Disability Insurance through the County. How does that work with my maternity leave? Expanded Disability is a County benefit for those employees who do not participate in the State s SDI program. If you participate in the County s Expanded Disability Insurance program, you can submit a claim for disability benefits due to your pregnancy. Like SDI, Expanded Disability provides you with a percentage of your salary while you are unable to work. However, with Expanded Disability, you can receive your disability check in addition to your regular paycheck (there is no integration of benefits). You also have the option of buying back sick time used during your medical leave. For more information about Expanded Disability or to request a claim form, contact the Benefits Office at What is Paid Family Leave? Am I eligible for that too? If you participate in the State s SDI program, you are eligible for Paid Family Leave (PFL). PFL provides up to six weeks of paid benefits to employees covered under SDI to bond with a newborn child or the adoption of a new child (PFL is not available to management / attorneys / confidential employees who do not participate in SDI). PFL is only available during your parental leave portion of your time-off (not your medical leave portion which is covered under SDI).

5 PFL claim forms are available for pickup at the Controller s Office or by calling Like SDI, any PFL payments made to you are integrated with your regular paycheck and paid leave hours are restored to you. What about Dads and Partners? What types of leave options are available to them? Dads and partners are also eligible for a parental leave following the birth or adoption of their child for up to six months upon Departmental approval (via the LOA form). Dads and partners may also qualify for FMLA and be legally entitled to 12 weeks of time-off with the County paying its portion of benefits. Finally, dads and partners are eligible for PFL (as described above) if they participate in SDI. IV. Additional Things to Think about Before Your Baby Arrives When do I add my baby to my health plan? You have 30 days from the delivery or adoption of your child to add him/her to your health plan. You may also want to consider adding your new child to your dental and vision plans at the same time; coverage is provided at no additional cost to you. Does the County offer any childcare? The County has one on-site childcare center, "Our Place," at the County Government Center in Redwood City. In addition, the County has established relationships with two additional childcare providers in the County: Imagination Station in Daly City and PAL-Care in Burlingame. County employees receive preferred registration status for placing their children at any of these three facilities. Tuition assistance is also available to eligible employees at each facility. Tuition Assistance may range from 10% to 60% of the total tuition cost and is based on family income and size. Childcare arrangements should be made with these providers as early as possible to assure placement when you need it. For more information, visit click on Child Care. Does the County have a Lactation Program? Yes, all California worksites are required by law to have clean, quiet spaces for back to work moms to use for expressing breastmilk during their workday. Many County employees use private offices for this purpose. A number of County worksites have designated Lactation Rooms. We encourage you to take some time before your maternity leave to determine your best options for breastpumping after you return to work, including where the onsite lactation room is in your building and how it is reserved. The County s Health & Fitness Program also provides free breastpump rentals and lactation support to County employees and their spouses/partners who are returning to work. For more information, contact Health & Fitness Work-Life Services, Can I use the County s Flexible Spending Account Program to help pay for childcare? Yes, the County s Flexible Spending Account (FSA) program allows you to set aside funds out of your paycheck on a pre-tax basis to pay for eligible childcare expenses. Because the dollars you place in these accounts are taken out of your pay before they are taxed, you lower your taxable income, thereby saving you money on federal, Social Security and state taxes. You can save an estimated $20-$40 on every $100 you choose to set aside. Eligible expenses include: daycare center charges, family daycare, summer day

6 camp, before and after school care, pre-school and au pair expenses. Enrollment for the County s FSA program is in October of each year. For more information, contact Employee Benefits at