Family Medical Leave Act FMLA What does it

Family Medical Leave Act FMLA What does it mean to me as a Supervisor?

FMLA The Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 provided for twelve (12) weeks of job -protected unpaid leave in a twelve (12) month period for: 1) Care for an Employee’s Serious Health Condition 2) Care for Serious Health Condition of a Family Member 3) Birth of a Child 4) Adoption or Foster Care Placement 5) Twenty-six (26) weeks of leave may be taken to care for a family member who suffered a serious injury or illness during military service 6) Twelve (12) weeks of leave may be taken to deal with exigencies related to a family member being called to active duty or overseas deployment

FMLA may be taken in one (1) of three (3) ways 1) Block of time – a lump of time say three (3) weeks 2) Reduced schedule – an employee works ½ days or other reduced hour days 3) Intermittent – leave taken in small time frames from one (1) hour to a couple of days at a time

Who is eligible for FMLA? 1) Any employee who has worked for Ingham County for at least twelve (12) months and 1, 250 hours is eligible for FMLA. 2) This includes full-time, three-quarter-time, part-time and seasonal employees 3) FMLA eligibility will be determined by the Benefits/Leave Analyst

Reasons for leave 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) Birth of a Child/Pregnancy Adoption or Foster Care Placement Care for Employee’s Serious Health Condition Substance Abuse Care for Serious Health Condition of Employee’s Family Member Qualifying Exigency Military Service Member Care

What does this mean to me as a Supervisor? AN EMPLOYEE DOES NOT NEED TO SAY THE WORDS FMLA OR SERIOUS HEALTH CONDITION!! FOR YOU TO TAKE ACTION!! 1) If an employee has been absent for three (3) consecutive days contact the Benefits/Leave Analyst to send out FMLA paperwork 2) You become aware of a potential serious health condition for an employee’s family member a) An employee calls in because their child was injured b) They have a sick parent c) Another employee says to you; “Did you hear Bill was in a car accident? ” d) An employee tells you they need surgery e) An employee tells you their parent/child is seriously ill f) An employee has deployment paperwork for spouse, child, parent or next of kin

What does this mean to me as a Supervisor? Continued 3) An employee does not have to tell you why they need FMLA 4) You cannot pressure an employee to tell you the reason they will be on FMLA Once you are aware of an employee’s need or request for FMLA contact the Benefits/Leave Analyst or have the employee make the contact AN EMPLOYEE DOES NOT NEED TO SAY THE WORDS FMLA OR SERIOUS HEALTH CONDITION!! FOR YOU TO TAKE ACTION!!

What is the FMLA Process? Once the Benefits Analyst is aware of an employee’s need or request for FMLA 1) The Benefits Analyst will determine if the employee is eligible for FMLA a) Do they meet the twelve (12) month requirement b) Do they meet the 1, 250 hours worked requirement c) Has the employee used their FMLA entitlement for the “rolling calendar” d) An employee does not need to have time in their leave bank to be eligible for FMLA 2) If the employee does not meet the above requirements or has used their twelve (12) weeks of FMLA for the “rolling calendar” year they will receive a letter that they do not qualify for FMLA. a) The employee may request “Special Leave” from the Department Head which is covered in the employee’s Bargaining Unit agreement

What is the FMLA Process? Continued 3) The Benefits Analyst will send a letter to the employee which will include a) Ingham County FMLA Policy b) Eligibility and Rights form c) Certification form (either for self or family member) d) Instructions to the Health Care Provider e) The employee has fifteen (15) calendar days to return the paperwork, although extensions may be asked for by the employee. f) The Benefits Analyst will provide follow up if the deadline is not met 4) Once the employee has completed and returned all forms the Benefits Analyst will send a designation letter which will let the employee know if their FMLA was approved or denied 5) The Supervisor will also receive notice of the employee’s approval or denial of FMLA, not the reason for FMLA

As the Supervisor what do I do now? 1) You have received notice that an employee’s FMLA request has been denied a) The employee may request Special Leave from their Department Head as it relates to their Bargaining Unit agreement b) The Department Head may chose not to take action on this request – Be Consistent in Your Actions 2) You have received notice that the employee’s FMLA request has been approved a) You will also receive notice as to the type of leave 1) block of time; 2) reduced schedule; or 3) intermittent 3) Your timekeeper will need to issue a PAR for the employee. It is important that the PAR does not state any medical information other than FMLA, otherwise we are not in compliance with HIPAA regulations

As the Supervisor what do I do now? Continued 4) You will be required to track the amount of time an employee uses for FMLA a) You need to know if an employee has exhausted their leave b) An employee may request the amount of FMLA available to them c) Human Resources needs to know the amount of time available d) In case of suspected abuse or misuse 5) You will need to contact the employee when they have two (2) weeks of leave remaining 6) While on block of time leave the employee will need to provide a status up-date once every thirty (30) days by calling the Benefits Analyst 7) If the employee’s FMLA is for a family member’s Serious Health Condition please refer to the appropriate Bargaining Unit agreement for the use of sick time for the care of a family member

As the Supervisor what do I do now? Continued 8) If the employee’s FMLA is intermittent every absence will be treated as FMLA unless the employee states differently 9) If you suspect FMLA Abuse or Misuse contact Human Resources 10) Supervisors, Timekeepers and the Benefits Analyst will need to work together during an employee’s FMLA

Tracking FMLA Usage 1) How to track FMLA usage a) If the employee is on a Block of Time leave, (surgery) their usage is very easy to track. Surgery date was Monday, June 10, 2013 and they were cleared to return to work on Monday, July 1, 2013. The employee has used three (3) weeks or 120 hours of their FMLA entitlement. Should they have a need for FMLA again before June 10, 2014 they would have nine (9) weeks or 360 hours available. b) If the employee is on a Reduced Schedule (working ½ days) they would use twenty (20) hours of FMLA each week while on this reduced schedule

Tracking FMLA Usage Continued c) If the employee is on Intermittent leave the fun really begins. Any time the employee calls in, the absence is counted toward their FMLA balance, unless the employee notifies you differently. 2) HOLIDAYS – How to count them a) If the employee is using FMLA in increments of less than one (1) week the holiday will not count against the employee’s FMLA entitlement unless the employee was otherwise scheduled and expected to work during the holiday. b) If the employee is on a Block of Time leave and a holiday occurs during that time the holiday counts toward their FMLA entitlement c) If the employee has accruals which pay them the day before and after a holiday they will receive holiday pay.

Tracking FMLA Usage Continued 3) OVERTIME – Does it count? a) If an employee is on intermittent or reduced schedule leave and would normally be required to work overtime, this time would count against the employee’s FMLA entitlement and need to be tracked b) If overtime is voluntary it would not be counted against an employee’s FMLA entitlement

Calculating FMLA Usage 1) On February 8, 2014 George Clooney is approved for a new FMLA, his rolling calendar starts here. How do you calculate how much time he has available? a) He starts over with a full 480 hours b) We just continue with what he has left from last year c) We calculate from today’s date back d) I don’t have a clue

Calculating FMLA Usage The correct answer is C) We calculate from today’s date back 2) How do we do that? a) We start at the February 7, 2014 date and go back to February 7, 2013 and total the amount of FMLA used for that time period, that total is 250 hours, so he has 230 hours available. b) George’s FMLA starts on February 8, 2014 so we would add the eight(8) hours he used on February 8, 2013 to his availability because he earned them back so his actual availability would be 238 hours. We would continue to add hours back to his availability as we move forward. On February 9 th & 10 th he would gain back eight (8) hours for each day. c) Looking at your worksheet when would George gain hours again?

Calculating FMLA Usage Continued 3) George would not gain additional time until March 24, 2014, when he would gain four (4) hours. 4) I am going to make this tracking sheet available for anyone who would like to use it.

Leave Without Pay (LWOP) 1) An employee does not need to have an accrued leave balance to take FMLA. 2) If while on FMLA, an employee has no accrued leave time and will have to designate days off as LWOP these days still count toward FMLA usage and need to be entered on the tracking sheet WORKERS’ COMPENSATION 1) FMLA runs concurrently with Workers’ Compensation when an employee is out due to a work related injury.

The employee is ready to return to work now what? 1) Depending on the reason for FMLA the employee may be required to submit a fitness for duty certification to the Benefits/Leave Analyst two (2) business days before returning to work 2) The employee has the right to return to the same or equivalent position a) Equivalent position is a position that is virtually identical in terms of pay, benefits & working conditions, including perquisites and status. It must have the same or substantially similar duties, conditions, responsibilities, privileges and status. It must include the same shift, location, seniority and bonus opportunities

The employee is ready to return to work now what? Continued 3) An employee may not just show up for work a) While we would all love to have an employee return early, they must report any change in status. If an employee was scheduled to be out for six (6) weeks but their doctor releases them to return to work after four (4) weeks, they must notify the Benefits Analyst b) The supervisor needs time to prepare for the return of an employee c) Ensure that fitness for duty; if required was returned and that the employee is cleared to return to work d) Is the employee returning to work with or without restrictions

The Employee’s FMLA has run out and they are not able to return to work 1) Each Bargaining Unit agreement has a “Special Leaves” section 2) The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has provisions for reasonable accommodations for employee’s with disabilities

Questions? I can be reached at 517 -676 -7336 or at bmills@ingham. org

Thank You!! • • • I hope that you leave here with a better understanding of FMLA If you have any questions at any time call me Remember you do not need to handle FMLA on your own