No. HR Page 1 of 6 Effective Date: 09/25/15. Original Signed by Mike Reeser TITLE: Chancellor Date: 09/25/15

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1 TEXAS STATE TECHNICAL COLLEGE STATEWIDE OPERATING STANDARD No. HR Page 1 of 6 Effective Date: 09/25/15 DIVISION: SUBJECT: AUTHORITY: Human Resources Family and Medical Leave FMLA of 1993, S.B. 5, 73 rd Legislature, Regular Session PROPOSED BY: TITLE: Original Signed by Ray Rushing Vice Chancellor & Chief Legal Officer/General Counsel Date: 09/25/15 RECOMMENDED BY: TITLE: Original Signed by Ray Rushing Vice Chancellor & Chief Legal Officer/General Counsel Date: 09/25/15 APPROVED BY: Original Signed by Mike Reeser TITLE: Chancellor Date: 09/25/15 STATUS: Approved by VCs 09/25/15 HISTORICAL STATUS: Reviewed/Revised 06/2015 Approved by MC 09/21/95 Revised 1/16/2014 Revised 08/11/95 Revised 04/11/95 Approved by MO POLICY: COMPLIANCE PERTINENT INFORMATION The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 requires any employer with at least 50 employees to provide 12 weeks of unpaid leave of absence, upon request, to an employee for any of the following events or conditions listed: Birth of a child and the care of the newborn (If both spouses are employed by the College as eligible employees, they are entitled together a total of 12 weeks of leave) Placement of a child with an employee in connection with the adoption or stateapproved foster care of the child (For a seriously ill adopted or foster child, if both

2 Page 2 spouses are employed by the college as eligible employees, each is entitled to 12 weeks of leave). Care for an immediate family member who has a serious health condition. A serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of his/her position; or A qualifying exigency that arises out of the fact that a spouse, parent, or child has been called to or is on active military duty as a member of the National Guard or military reserves. Military Caregiver Leave. In addition, an employee who is the spouse, parent, child, or next of kin of a current member of the armed forces (including the regular armed forces) who was injured while on active duty may be eligible for up to 26 weeks of FMLA leave in a 12-month period, including the types of leave listed above. ELIGIBILITY To be eligible for FMLA, an employee has to have been employed by the state for at least 12 months and worked at least 1,250 hours during the preceding 12 months of current employment. If the employee has a break in service that lasted seven years or more, the time worked prior to the break will not count unless the break is due to service covered by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), or there is a written agreement, including a collective bargaining agreement, outlining the employer s intention to rehire the employee after the break in service. In calculating the required 12 months of state employment for FMLA leave eligibility, the state employment need not be continuous but must meet the 7 year criteria If an employee is not eligible for FMLA leave the employee should consult other leave policies to determine if other leave might be available. An employee does not need to use his or her FMLA leave entitlement in one block. Leave may be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule when medically necessary. Employees must make reasonable efforts to schedule leave for planned medical treatment so as not to unduly disrupt the employer s operations. Notice of Leave. Employee must supply sufficient information for TSTC to be aware that the FMLA may apply to the leave request, as well as information regarding the anticipated timing and duration of leave. Employees must complete a Request for Family and Medical Leave and send it to the Human Resources office. The notice must be provided 30 days in advance of the need to take FMLA when the need is foreseeable. When 30-days notice is not possible, the employee must provide notice as soon as practicable and generally must comply with normal call-in procedures. The Human Resources designatedexecutive of the college or her/his designee shall respond to the employee in writing within five working days of receipt of the application in the Human Resources Office. The departmental contact will be notified by the Human Resources Office when FMLA leave has been designated for an employee.

3 Page 3 In order to be eligible for 12 weeks of medical leave for the employee s own serious illness, provide documentation that he or she is medically unable to perform the functions of the job. Medical leave may be taken whenever it is medically necessary as intermittent leave or leave on a reduced work schedule. The Certification of Physician form for these modified work schedules must include the expected dates for and the planned duration of the medical treatments, as well as a statement of the medical necessity for the intermittent leave or a reduced work schedule. If medical leave is foreseeable, the employee is required to make a reasonable effort to schedule the leave, including doctor s appointment and/or continuing treatment, to minimize disruptions to the operations of the employee s department. Intermittent or reduced schedule leave is not permitted for the birth, adoption, or placement of a child. The FMLA leave must be taken all at one time. During the FMLA period employees will be required to take all of their accumulated paid leave, including approved leave from the sick leave pool, as part of their 12 weeks. If an employee has less than 12 weeks of accrued paid leave, the rest of the leave will be unpaid. Employees who are receiving temporary disability benefit payments or workers compensation benefits are not required to use paid leave while on FMLA leave. If the employee remains on FMLA after these benefits end, the employee will then be required to use available paid leave before using unpaid leave. Sick leave may only be taken in situations when such leave would normally be permitted. FMLA leave runs concurrently with vacation leave or other paid or unpaid sick leave, or other leave when the reasons for those leaves meet the FMLA criteria. FMLA leave will run concurrently with leave from the Sick Leave Pool. Employee must cooperate with all requests for information regarding whether absences are FMLA qualifying or not. Medical & Other Certifications Texas State Technical College requires medical certification of a serious health condition and need for leave from the employee's or family member's health care provider within 15 calendar days of the request for leave, unless 15 days is not practicable. The employee's supervisor must notify the employee of the certification requirement when leave is requested. Unless the need for leave was not foreseeable, TSTC may delay leave until the certification is provided. All certifications should be treated as confidential medical records and kept separate from personnel records. The Certification form must include the date the serious health condition began and the estimated duration of the condition. The Certification form supporting leave requests for the serious illness of a family member should include a statement indicating the

4 Page 4 necessity of the employee to care for the child, spouse, or parent. It is the responsibility of the employee, not Texas State Technical College or the health care provider, to see that the required medical certification is received by the Human Resource Office. Failure to provide proper medical certification, as required, will be considered job abandonment, and the employee will be separated from employment. Texas State Technical College will require the medical recertification of an FMLA Leave if it receives information that casts doubt on the employee s stated reason for the absences or questions the continuing validity of the certification for which the employee is on FMLA Leave. Should this become necessary, the employee will have 15 calendar days to provide the requested recertification, and the recertification will be at the employee's expense. Texas State Technical College, at its discretion, may require a second or third medical opinion from an independent health care provider of Texas State Technical College s choosing when reason exists to question the necessity for the employee s medical leave. All second and third medical opinions will be paid for by TSTC. If a third medical opinion is sought, the health care provider selected must be mutually acceptable to the employee and TSTC. The third opinion will be the final opinion, and the opinion rendered will be binding on both the employee and TSTC. For adoption of a child, the employee must submit a brief written statement to the designated Executive of the Human Resources office or her/his designee specifying the age of the child, the anticipated or actual date of placement in the employee's home, and the number of requested days for FMLA leave. The employee also must submit similar proof of the placement of a foster child in her/his home. Texas State Technical College requires medical certification regarding the employee's release to return to work at the conclusion of the FMLA leave. The employee must keep her/his supervisor informed of her/his status at least once every two weeks. If an employee does not contact her/his supervisor at least every two weeks to report her/his status, the employee may be contacted by TSTC for this purpose. A family member may call in for the employee only if the employee is medically unable to do so. Benefits and Protections TSTC will continue employer contributions at the same level during such leave provided any employee-paid premiums are kept current. Employees who return to work directly from FMLA leave may, effective the date they return to work, reinstate all reduced or canceled coverages that were in effect immediately prior to going on FMLA leave. Such reinstatement will be without penalty for pre-existing conditions and without the requirement to show proof of insurability. Use of FMLA cannot result in the loss of any employment benefit that accrued prior to the start of an employee leave. In addition, employees may add newly eligible dependents, drop dependents, drop or decrease coverages, provided the Benefit Enrollment Form is completed within 30 days of returning to work.

5 Page 5 Texas State Technical College may recover from the employee any employer-paid premiums during any period of unpaid FMLA leave if the employee does not return to work at the conclusion of an approved family or medical leave. If it becomes known to and verified by the department during FMLA leave that the employee does not intend to return to work following FMLA leave, the entitlement to leave and employer-paid premiums cease at that time, and the employee shall be separated with a Payroll Change Notification Form. Texas State Technical College will return employees granted FMLA leave to their same job or position or to one of equivalent status and pay at the conclusion of such leave. Employees who are unwilling or unable to return to work at the conclusion of FMLA leave will be terminated, and the employing department may fill the vacant position. Texas State Technical College may temporarily reassign or transfer employees who qualify for intermittent or reduced schedule medical leave to any available alternate position with equivalent pay and benefits. Such transfers or reassignments may be made provided the employee is qualified for the position and if the position better accommodates recurring periods of leave and assignment to the position will allow for less disruption to the department's operations. If the employee has exhausted all accrued leave, the employee will be paid for only the actual hours worked. Employees granted FMLA leave are not permitted to perform work during regular working hours for another employer, attend training opportunities, or attend educational classes during regular working hours. Additional Information A reminder that employees who are unwilling or unable to return to work at the conclusion of FMLA leave will be terminated and the employing department may fill the vacant position. Employees on FMLA leave are not entitled to accrue state service credit for any full calendar month(s) of FMLA leave without pay and shall not accrue vacation or sick leave for such months. Furthermore, any full calendar months of FMLA leave without pay shall not be included in the calculation of the six continuous months of employment set forth under vacation leave. GENERAL PROVISIONS It is unlawful to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of any right provided by the Family and Medical Leave Act or to discharge or, in any way, discriminate against any individual because the individual opposed or complained about any unlawful practice under the act, filed a charge, or gave information or testified in connection with any inquiry or proceeding related to this act. NOTICE Texas State Technical College will post notices that explain employees' rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

6 Page 6 An employee is required to notify her/his supervisor of any events that require an extended absence from work. If the event qualifies under the FMLA or Parental Leave, the supervisor has the responsibility of notifying the employee of her/his rights and responsibilities. In addition, the supervisor should notify the Executive of Human Resources or her/his designee when an employee has notified the supervisor of a qualifying FMLA or Parental Leave absence. PARENTAL LEAVE Employees who are not entitled to FMLA leave may be entitled to a parental leave of absence, not to exceed 12 weeks (480 hours), for the birth of a natural child or the adoption of a child less than three years of age. Employees on Parental Leave are not entitled to receive the state-paid portion of the group health insurance premium during any full calendar months of leave without pay. The employee is responsible for the entire cost of the insurance premiums. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS The college maintains files for FMLA leave, to include the request and final action, in accordance with established record management schedules.