Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)Who has to comply?Where do I get the information to comply?What is the process?

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was passed in 1993 and revised in January 16, 2009 and March 8, 2013. • FMLA is one of the most popular and beneficial

laws to employees• Employees tend to know their rights• Employers should understand both employee

and employer rights• Important for employers to understand how to

comply with the law• Even if the employee does not request FMLA,

you will want to initiate the process

FMLA – who is eligible?

• Employees working for a covered employer who have worked at least 1,250 hours within the last 12 months and who have been employed at least one year. *

• A covered employer includes all schools in our diocese and any location with at least 50 employees in a 75 mile radius of their location.

• *the practice has been to provide FMLA to all employees who have been employed at least one year and worked the 1,250 hours in the past year regardless of the number of employees.

• If an employee is eligible for FMLA and the illness is a covered illness, you should have the employee complete the documents even if they do not want to use FMLA.

• FMLA runs concurrently with vacation, sick time, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Workers’ Compensation.

• Eligible employees get up to 12 weeks (26 weeks for covered service members for injuries in the line of duty) of FMLA covered leave in a 12 month period. There are various ways to calculate the 12 month period.

• I recommend the ’rolling-12 month backward’ method • From the date the FMLA is to begin, look back over the

last 12 months and determine how much, if any, time has been taken to determine how much FMLA time the employee has left.

• The Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division is responsible for the FMLA - http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/

• Grants leave for family and medical circumstances, including leave for a qualifying exigency for families of members of the regular Armed Forces, National Guard and Reserves when the covered military member is on active duty or called to active duty.

• Grants leave to care for a spouse, son, daughter, parent or next-of-kin covered service member with a serious illness or injury incurred in the line of duty on active duty.

• Reinstate the employee to the same or an equivalent position upon conclusion of the FMLA leave.

• Continue health benefits at the same level as prior to the start of FMLA leave. Employee is still required to pay their portion of the premium.

• FMLA does not require paid leave.

• You can require an employee to take the leave as paid if they have a bank of sick, vacation and or PTO.

• You will want to run FMLA concurrently with sick and vacation leave, workers’ compensation and disability insurance.

• If you allow your employees to use their sick leave for the care of their children, you can allow them to use it for the care of a family member during FMLA .

Where can I find FMLA Documents and Processes?

• Schools web page – www.dmdiocese.org and select Catholic Schools on the banner at the top of the screen

• Select “About Catholic Schools” on the left side of screen

• Select “School Policies and Regulations”

• Select “400 Staff Personnel”

• Select “430 Family Leave”

Process• Employee provides a Request for FMLA Form 30 days

ahead of the need for time off when possible• If the employee has not asked for FMLA but you are

confident the employee has a FMLA covered need, meet with the employee and provide the employee the Request for FMLA Form

• Within 5 business days after receipt of the request, provide the employee with a Notice of Eligibility and Rights along with the Certification of Health Care provider – either employee’s own or family member’s

• Employee has 15 calendar days to return the Certification of Health Care Provider

• Employer has 5 business days to provide a written response to the employee regarding leave approval or denial

Intermittent Leave• Challenges occur when an employee may not have

advanced warning or knowledge of their need for leave. Examples of such health conditions could be:• Migraines• Mental Heath• Diabetes• Cancer• Including these conditions for a child, spouse or

parent

Employer Actions Prohibited by FMLA

• Making pre-hire inquiries regarding need for FMLA

• Penalizing the employee for absences related to an approved FMLA leave

• Asking the employee for a doctor’s note for each use of intermittent FMLA leave

• Interfering with an employee’s rights under the FMLA

• Retaliating against employees who file FMLA complaints or exercise their FMLA rights.

Questions?Eileen Cull Valdez, SPHR

Human Resources DirectorDiocese of Des Moines

515-237-5085 evaldez@dmdiocese.org