(A)       Policy Statement.  In compliance with the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), it is the policy of the university to grant up to twelve (12) weeks of unpaid job protected leave to eligible employees per rolling twelve-month period. Military Family Leave entitles eligible employees a combined total of twenty-six (26) weeks of FMLA leave per rolling twelve-month period.  FMLA will run concurrently with other paid or unpaid leaves for the following qualifying events:

(1)        A serious health condition that prevents an employee from performing his or her job;

(2)        Care for a child during the first year following birth, adoption or foster care placement;or

(3)        Care for a family member who has a serious health       condition.

(4)        Qualifying exigency leave for active duty of a family member;

(5)        Care for injured or ill service member.

(B)       Definitions.

(1)        FMLA.The Family and Medical Leave Act provides up to twelve (12) weeks of job protected leave to eligible employees under certain circumstances:

(2)        Family Member. For the purposes of this policy, a family member is defined as a parent, spouse, registered domestic partner, step-child, biological, adopted, foster or legal ward son or daughter (up to age 18, except in the cases where the child is incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability).

(3)        Paid Leave. The use of accrued sick, vacation and personal time as appropriate,prior to going on unpaid status.  Use of sick leave is limited by physician certification.

(4)        Serious Health Condition. An injury, impairment or physical or mental condition that involves either:

(a)        Inpatient care in a hospital, hospice or residential care facility, or

(b)        Continuing treatment by a health care provider.

(5)        Unpaid Leave. A leave of absence in which an employee is not eligible to use accrued sick or vacation time, or has exhausted all sick and vacation time and there is still a need for additional leave.

(6)        Intermittent FMLA Leave.  A leave of absence taken in nonconsecutive blocks of time rather than one continuous period.  Leave periods may range from an hour or more to several weeks.

(7)        Reduced Schedule FMLA Leave. A reduction in the usual number of working hours per day or week for a period of time for reasons related to the approved FMLA.

(8)        Qualifying Exigency. Leave for active duty of a family member for a serious health condition, to care for a seriously ill family member, or to bond with a new child. This leave is part of the regular 12-week entitlement -- that is, the employee gets twelve (12) weeks total per year for any qualifying reason, not an additional twelve (12) weeks for issues relating to a family member’s military service.

(9)        Military Family Leave.  FMLA leave to care for injured members of the Armed Forces. This leave allows eligible employees twenty-six (26) weeks of unpaid leave to provide care to wounded U.S. military personnel who is the:

(a)        Spouse, son, daughter, parent or next of kin of a covered service member with a serious injury or illness, and provides care for such service member.

(C)       Eligibility.

(1)        Any university employee (excluding student employees) who has been employed by the university for at least twelve months; and has worked for at least 1,250 hours during the past twelve months is entitled to FMLA for covered circumstances. 

(2)        To be eligible for a qualifying FMLA leave, the employee must meet all of the following criteria:

(a)        The employee must have been employed by Kent State for at least 12 months.Any portion of a week that the employee is on the payroll counts as a full week for FMLA eligibility. These hours must be actual hours worked, which do not include holiday, vacation, sick or compensated hours.

(b)        The employee must not have already received twelve (12) weeks of FMLA leave in the current calendar year.

(D)       Implementation.

(1)        Interaction with Other Types of Leave. Generally, any absence that  meets the standards for FMLA shall be considered to be covered by FMLA, while an employee is using sick leave, personal leave, vacation and unpaid temporary disability or child care leave.

(a)        Compensatory Time Off. Employees who request compensatory time off for qualifying events covered by FMLA will not be considered to be on FMLA during their approved compensatory time off.

(b)        Worker’s Compensation. A serious health condition may result from a work related injury or illness to an employee.  If an injury or illness meets the criteria for a serious health condition, whether it is covered by workers compensation or not, the employee will be considered to be on FMLA which will run concurrently with a worker’s compensation absence. The granting of FMLA shall have no bearing on the approval or disapproval of the employee’s workers compensation request.

(2)        General Provisions. The following provisions apply while an employee is considered to be on qualified leave under FMLA.

(a)        FMLA will not exceed twelve (12) weeks within a twelve month rolling period, whether taken at once, in intermittent periods or as a reduced schedule.  The twelve month period is measured forward from the date the employee’s first approved FMLA absence begins.

(b)        If the employee is away from the workplace for three (3) working days and has not notified the supervisor of the need for FMLA, and the employee’s supervisor has sufficient knowledge to make a determination that leave is being taken for a qualifying FMLA reason (either at the time the employee gives notice or begins leave), but fails to designate leave as FMLA, the university may not retroactively designate leave as FMLA.

(c)        Employees may be placed on FMLA leave any time the employee experiences a period of incapacity of two consecutive days or more with proper physician certification of a qualifying FMLA reason, or are absent on an intermittent basis for a qualifying FMLA reason.

(d)        After the (12) twelve weeks of qualifying FMLA leave is exhausted and if the employee is still not medically able to return to work, the employee or their representative must notify the employee’s supervisor of the need for continued leave of absence.

(e)        Once leave protected under regular FMLA and Military Family Leave has been exhausted, the employee’s failure to return to work should be treated as any other failure to return to work.

(f)         Upon completion of regular FMLA leave or Military Family leave of absence, the employee is to be returned to the position formerly occupied, or to a similar position if the employee's former position no longer exists.

(3)        Intermittent or Reduced Schedule FMLA. Normally, FMLA will be approved for an employee’s complete regular work schedule. Employees may also request an intermittent or reduced work schedule with the approval of the employee’s supervisor and review by human resources.  The employee must submit written medical or other supporting certification subject to the following conditions:

(a)        Serious health condition of the employee or of a member of the employee’s family member.The employee must submit written medical certification to support the intermittent or reduced schedule FMLA (e.g., periodic testing or treatment);

(b)        Birth or placement (adoption or foster care) of a child with the employee’s family;

(c)        Utilization. Intermittent FMLA is calculated by hours, based upon a forty-hour week. For a full-time employee, the maximum utilization of FMLA is 480 hours; for part-time employees the maximum is twelve times the regular scheduled weekly work hours.

(4)        Military Family Leave and use of FMLA to care for injured members of the Armed Forces will be approved under the following conditions:

(a)        The serious illness or injury must have been incurred by the covered service member in the line of duty while on active duty in the Armed Forces.

(b)        Covered family members are entitled to up to 26 weeks of regular FMLA leave and military family leave during a single 12-month period to care for the service member

(c)        As with regular FMLA leave, military family leave is unpaid leave for which an employee may substitute any vacation or sick leave.  The normal leave year limitations on the use of sick leave to care for a family member do not apply.

(5)        Military Family Leave and Reemployment rights of employees returning from active duty must make timely application for reemployment according to the requirements of USERRA as stated in 3342-6-11.6 Administrative Policy Regarding Military Leave of Absence.

(6)        Certification,Reporting and Record Keeping.

(a)        Medical Certification. FMLA will not be approved until the medical certification from the appropriate licensed physician has been received and approved.  If the leave is due to the serious health condition of the employee or the serious health condition of a family member, the employee must ensure that the patient’s health care provider completes the required medical certification form, and returns it within fifteen (15) business days of receipt (or as soon as practicable).

(b)        Additional Medical Review.  The university may request up to two (2) additional medical reviews of the employee’s medical condition, at university expense.

(c)        Certification of Family Relationship. The university may request certification of family relationship.  The employee’s supervisor can request certification in the form of a written statement from the employee, or documentation such as a birth certificate, court document, etc. Domestic partner relationships will require the completion of a notarized domestic partner affidavit to be returned to the Office of Benefits.

(d)        Record Keeping. The Benefits office will keep records of FMLA requests and all supporting documentation. Medical records accompanying FMLA requests will be maintained confidentially and separate from personnel files.

(7)        Group Insurance and Retirement Contributions.

(a)        Employees who are participating in university-sponsored group insurance programs will be eligible to continue participation while on FMLA. If the FMLA is unpaid, employees will be responsible for paying their insurance contributions at the same rate as before the unpaid leave began. If employees fail to submit payment in a timely manner, their insurance benefits will be terminated.

(b)        Employees returning from FMLA will return to their regular assignment, and the FMLA will be treated as continuous service for the purpose of calculating any university benefits based upon service.

(c)        During an unpaid leave of absence, both the employer and the employee contributions to OPERS, STRS, or the Alternative Retirement Program (ARP) are discontinued. Accrued retirement benefits are not forfeited, nor can they be withdrawn during a leave of absence. In certain cases, service credit can be purchased by the employee for a period of time spent on an approved unpaid leave of absence. Additional information relative to purchase of retirement credits may be obtained by contacting the benefits office.

(8)       Application Procedure.

(a)        All leaves of absence and extensions thereof must be requested thirty (30) days in advance of the date the leave is to begin, when the necessity for leave if foreseeable. If the need for a leave is not foreseeable thirty (30) business days prior to the effective date of such leave, the employee must provide notice as soon as possible on forms provided by the university.

(b)        A request for leave of absence must be submitted to the employee's supervisor for review and, where appropriate, approval by the supervisor, dean/director, and the appropriate appointing authority.

(9)        Responsibility.

(a)        Under this policy, the employee’s responsibilities include but are not limited to:

(i)         Provide their supervisor with advance notice of leave requests with a minimum of 30 business days or as much time as is reasonable.   

(ii)        Complete appropriate Leave Request Forms and distinguish FMLA from other types of leave not covered by one of the five FMLA qualifying events.

(iii)       Submit the required medical certification (completed by a licensed physician) for every new event (serious health condition of the  employee, family member, pregnancy, adoption, qualifying exigency, or service member leave) within a 12 month period, a new medical certification is required. 

(iv)       Return the appropriate Leave Request Form and medical certification forms to the Benefits Office within fifteen (15) business days of receipt.  Failure to return required documentation to Benefits within this timeframe may result in, up to and including termination of employment.

(v)        Contact the Benefits office to determine eligibility for benefits while on FMLA.

Effective:Pending