FAQ s Family Medical Leaves [FMLA/STD/LOA]

Transcription

1 Human Resources 820 N Michigan Ave., Chicago, Illinois (312) Fax (312) FAQ s Family Medical Leaves [FMLA/STD/LOA] Frequently Asked Questions: The following is a series of frequently asked questions regarding FMLA. The following questions, along with the answers, will help provide you with information about this law. If you need further assistance, please call the Human Resources Office at For More FAQ s go to: Q. What is FMLA? A. The Family Medical Leave Act is a federal law administered by the Department of Labor. Congress proposes updates to this law frequently, and there can be changes in the administration of the benefits dictated by the United States Department of Labor. The FMLA provides qualified employees with up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave in a 12-month period. At Loyola, the appropriate accrued paid-time-off banks are used from the start of an absence taken for any FMLA reason. This allows continued salary for the staff or faculty member for as long as those accruals allow. FMLA has no provision for compensation. During the 12 week leave period, FMLA requires that the person s group health benefits be maintained at the same level it was before the leave. Q. How does FMLA Apply and what are the Entitlements? A. FMLA is designed to help employees balance their work and family responsibilities by allowing them to take reasonable leave for certain family and medical reasons. It provides employees protection to some job and health benefits during a leave(s) of absence(s) from work for specific health, maternity/paternity or family reasons. At Loyola, staff and faculty use their appropriate paid-time-off to continue their salary from the first day of absence taken for an FMLA related reason up until the accrued paid-time-off is exhausted. The federal government makes no allowances to continue pay during FMLA. FMLA applies to regular full and part-time Loyola staff and faculty who have been employed with the University for at least 12 months, [although not necessarily consecutive], and have worked at least 1,250 hours over the past 12 months. The FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave.

2 Q. What kinds of absences are covered? A. FMLA and STD apply for absences of more than 3 consecutive days in duration [for Loyola] for the following reasons. Eligible employees are entitled to and absences covered: Twelve workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for: the birth of a child and to care for the newborn child within one year of birth; the placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care and to care for the newly placed child within one year of placement; to care for the employee s spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition; a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his or her job; any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee s spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a covered military member on covered active duty; or Twenty-six workweeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness if the eligible employee is the service member s spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin (military caregiver leave). Q. Do I have to go on FMLA if I am absent for one of the reasons covered by FMLA? A. Yes. FMLA is a federal law that applies to the employee as well as the employer. Q. Pregnancy: When do I contact Prudential [Loyola s leave administrator] during my pregnancy? A. You may contact the leave administrator at least one month in advance [or earlier if necessary] via phone or you may submit your claim on their web site [see Prudential s Reporting an Absence of Disability brochure on Loyola s web site at: Q. Pregnancy: Will Prudential send me paperwork or a leave packet? A. Yes, Prudential will advise you via letter of your eligibility and approval or denial for FML and/or STD leave. The packet will include all pertinent information and forms as well as a health care provider s certification form and Loyola s Benefit s Selection/Change form if you are adding the baby to your plan. Q. Pregnancy: After the baby is born, do I contact Prudential? A. Yes, you will notify Prudential of the birth date. This is important so that they can advise Loyola s HR-Benefits team to start the leave and pay process through HR and Payroll and to advise your manager/supervisor how to charge leave time off in Kronos from your accruals. Q. I am a Staff employee below administrator level how will my time be charged in Kronos if I am out for a serious health condition for several weeks? A. There is a 10-day STD elimination period using your Sick, Personal, Float Holiday, and/or Vacation accruals. On the 11 th work day out sick, Short-Term Disability benefits will start and will end according to your health care provider s medical certification. Loyola s STD plan allows a maximum of 10 weeks of Short-Term Disability benefits. This applies to an Exempt or Non-Exempt Staff member.

3 Q. Who is eligible for FMLA? A. Any regular full or part-time Loyola staff or faculty member who has: 1. Been employed at Loyola for at least 12 months [not necessarily consecutive], and 2. Worked for Loyola at least 1,250 hours over the last 12 months. Q. Can the employer count leave taken due to pregnancy complications against the 12 weeks of FMLA leave for the birth and care of my child? A. Yes. An eligible employee is entitled to a total of 12 weeks of FMLA leave in a 12-month period. If the employee has to use some of that leave for another reason, including a difficult pregnancy, it may be counted as part of the 12-week FMLA leave entitlement. Q. What sorts of things count for serious health issue of the employee? A. This could be anything from a bad cold or flu, to an accident, to a condition that requires hospitalization or surgery. Anytime an employee is away from work for more than 3 consecutive working days, the illness has the potential of being serious and the FMLA process should be started. Q. May I take FMLA leave for visits to a physical therapist, if my doctor prescribes the therapy? A. Yes. FMLA permits you to take leave to receive "continuing treatment by a health care provider," which can include recurring absences for therapy treatments such as those ordered by a doctor for physical therapy after a hospital stay or for treatment of severe arthritis. Q. What if I was injured on the job and there is a Workers Compensation claim? A. If the employee is absent from work for 3 consecutive days, even due to a workplace injury/illness that is clearly covered under Workers Compensation, the employee should contact the HR Manager to process the Workers Comp Claim. However, the FMLA process should be started as well. FMLA will not interfere with Workers Compensation. The employee may contact Prudential to start the FML process. Q. How can I report an absence or disability? A. Timely reporting of your leave of absence is critical to the continuation of your benefits and pay. If you expect to be out of work for more than three consecutive days, you must report your leave of absence to Prudential. To report an absence or disability, you can either: 1. Call ( ) at any time. You can speak to one of the absence professionals or follow the prompts to record your absence or disability information. 2. Go to and click on Family & Medical Leave of Absence. Log in and click on Report an Absence and follow the instructions. [Refer to HR s Leave Policies and Leave brochure for more details located on the HR website at: Q. Who is considered an immediate family member for purposes of taking FMLA leave? A. An employee s spouse, children (son or daughter), and parents are immediate family members for purposes of FMLA. The term "parent" does not include a parent "in-law". The terms son or daughter do not include individuals the age 18 or over, unless they are "incapable of self-care" because of a mental or physical disability that limits one or more "major life activities" as those terms are defined in regulations issued by the EEOC under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

4 Q. If I need to take care of an immediate family member, what documentation is required? A. You will call or submit your claim on line to Prudential to start your Family Medical Leave [FML] claim. They will send you a letter/leave packet. Q. What if I am not able to contact Prudential to start a FMLA/STD Claim? A. If your department or Human Resources believe that your reason for absence is FMLA related, your manager, HR, or a family member can start the claim by contacting Prudential. Q. How long a period of time may I take off from work under FMLA? A. FMLA s protections extend for up to 12 weeks of time away from work in a 12-month period. Time off may be taken all at once, in separate blocks of time, intermittently or through a reduced work schedule up to the 12-week time period. If additional time is needed, an employee may be able to use Loyola s General Leave of Absence [see General Leave Policy]. Q. As a Staff Member, am I paid for this time? A. Possibly. Loyola staff accrues paid-time-off accruals. The appropriate accruals will be charged from the first day of absence, (taken for an FMLA-related reason), to continue the employee s salary for as long as possible during his or her absence. Sick [if for his/her own illness], vacation, personal and floating holiday are all eligible paid-time-off banks. Faculty members also have paid-time-off that will continue salary during an FMLA absence. FMLA is a federal law that allows time off but the law does not provide its own salary continuation during the leave period. Q. Do I have to use my accrued paid-time-off banks? A. Yes. Loyola requires that the appropriate accrued sick/vacation/personal time be used before the staff person goes on an unpaid status. Sick time or short-term disability may be used only when the leave is for the employee s own serious illness. Q. Will the 12 weeks start after I ve used my paid-time-off? No. The FMLA 12-week period starts with the first day of absence taken for an FMLA reason. Q. What happens if I have exhausted my paid-time-off accruals? A. Your position will be protected during the full 12 weeks, even if you are on a no-pay status. If you have health and/or dental insurance through Loyola, you will need to arrange to pay the insurance premiums directly to the Human Resources Office so that you continue to receive these important benefits. Q. Will the cost of my health, dental, vision, life, or elected benefits change? A. No. FMLA protection ensures that your portion of the cost of health insurance premiums stay at the same rate as when you were an active employees [during the FMLA period]. If you are absent for more than the 12 consecutive weeks and on a General Leave of Absence, the full cost of the insurance premiums would apply. Q. If I decide not to continue my health and/or dental benefits during my FMLA leave, may I re-enroll at the end of leave? A. Yes. FMLA provides that employees returning from a family or medical leave are entitled to be reinstated on the same terms as prior to taking the leave, without any qualifying period, requirement to take a physical examination, exclusion for pre-existing conditions, etc.

5 Q. What if Loyola changes health benefits, or changes health benefit plans while I m on leave? A. The employee is entitled to the new or changed plan or benefit as if he or she had not been on leave. Notice of opportunity to change plans or benefits must also be given to an employee on leave. Q. May I use Tuition Benefits while on FMLA? A. Yes. Loyola allows that Tuition Benefit remains in effect as if the employee were active. Q. Will Loyola hold my job for me for the full 12 weeks? A. Under FMLA the job the employee held when starting on FMLA or an equivalent job will be available if the employee returns after the 12-week period. Q. What does equivalent job mean? Among other things, an equivalent position must: Have the same pay, benefits and working conditions, including privileges, prerequisites and status Involve the same or substantially similar duties and responsibilities, requiring substantially equivalent skill, effort, responsibility and authority Be at the same or a geographically proximate worksite where the employee had previously been employed; Be on the same shift or the same or an equivalent work schedule. Q. What happens if an employee s job is eliminated because of reorganization or reduction in staff while on leave? A. Loyola is not required to reinstate or create an equivalent position if the employee s position has been eliminated. However, Loyola must be able to show that the employee s job would have been eliminated even if he/she had not gone on leave. Q. If my spouse also works for Loyola; may we both take 12 weeks leave for the birth or placement of a child? A. No. FMLA allows a combined total of 12 weeks for the mother and father if they work for the same employer. However, under Loyola s General Leave of Absence, an employee, [mother or father], may request extended leave time. [See information of General Leave of Absence.] Q. What happens when I am ready to return to work? A. An employee off work for his or her own health reasons, including maternity, will need to have the Return to Work Medical Certification [see above] completed by his or her healthcare provider and submitted to Prudential, employee s manager, and HR before returning to his or her job. (This is true even when the employee has extended the leave beyond the FMLA 12-week period.) This form assures the University that the employee is able to take on his or her normal duties. The healthcare provider can use this form to identify restrictions or limitations, as well as a return to full duties. Once the form is in place, if the employee has been away for 12 weeks or less, the employee returns to the job. Q. How much notice must I give when requesting FMLA? A. When foreseeable, HR and the employee s department would like 30-day notice of an impending FMLA leave of absence. Often, that is not possible. Oral notice satisfies the initial FMLA requirements; however, the employee must contact Prudential as soon as possible to start the claim process.

6 Q. Does FMLA replace Loyola s general Leave of Absence? A. No. Loyola maintains both types of leave. A general Leave of Absence [LOA] always runs concurrently with FMLA and may be used to extend a medically-related leave beyond the 12 weeks allowed by FMLA. A general Leave of Absence may be taken for many reasons other than those that are covered by FMLA. See the policy on Leave of Absence for more details on general LOA. Q. I ve had a break in my employment; can I still be covered by FMLA? A. Possibly. To be eligible, the employee must have 12 months of service with Loyola, but the months do not need to be consecutive. For example, an employee may have worked for four months and then have left the University for 3 months. The employee came back and worked another eight months. The total of twelve months fulfills the requirement. However, the employee must also have worked 1250 hours in the 12 months just prior to the request for FMLA. Q. How does Loyola count the 1250 hours? A. The federal government determined that the 1250 hours needed to qualify for FMLA be those identified as productive. This would include hours actually worked, including over-time hours and holiday pay. It would not include hours paid by sick, vacation, personal, bonus banks or other time-paid-off related pay. Q. What are my options if I have not met the FMLA eligibility requirements? A. Employees who have 6 months of service to Loyola are eligible to request a general Leave of Absence from their department. For further information on this option, see the policy on General Leave of Absence. Q. Is the 12-week entitlement under FMLA the same for all employees? A. Yes, but there are some variances from what we traditionally think of as a work week. For reduced schedule employees, for instance, what constitutes a week is determined by the actual working schedule of the employee. For example, an employee who normally works 30 hours a week would be eligible for 12 times 30 hours or 360 total hours in a 12-month span. An employee who normally works a 40-hour week would be eligible for 12 times 40 or 480 hours in a 12-month span. Q. If I have taken one 12 week FMLA period, how do I know when I am eligible for another? A. Loyola University uses the "rolling" 12-month method for calculating FMLA leave, which is measured backward from the date an employee uses any FMLA leave. Each time an employee takes FMLA leave the remaining entitlement would be any balance of the 12 weeks, which has not been used during the immediately preceding 12 months. Q. Is there a relationship between FMLA and the American with Disabilities Act? A. Not directly. However, an employee s serious health issue might lead to a disability that is covered under the ADA. Q. What happens to my pension while I m on FMLA? A. IRS regulations allow staff and faculty to continue to receive University contribution to their retirement plan only during that portion of FMLA in which they are paid. This includes contribution for staff to the voluntary VALIC Matched Plan. IRS regulations require that the University contributions stop at the point that the employee is no longer receiving compensation from the University.

7 Q. May I access any of my Tax Deferred Annuity [403b] funds, LUERP or TIAA-CREF retirement funds if I need the money? A. Probably not. IRS rules say that there can be no in-service distribution of LUERP [for staff], the RMSP or the Defined Contribution Retirement Plan [for faculty]. There are distribution options available through the Tax-Deferred Annuity Program in cases of disability or when the employee has reached the age of 59 ½.. Dated: 2/7/2014:scwr