Procedure: Family and Medical Leave Act Leave
Family and Medical Act Leave is available to any employee who has been employed for at least twelve (12) months and has a work schedule of at least twenty hours per week or who has actually worked at least 1250 hours in the twelve months immediately preceding the leave. Federal law entitles eligible employees a maximum of twelve (12) workweeks of family and medical leave in a twelve month period. Employees may use accrued leave and, in some circumstances, sick leave while on family and medical leave in order to continue to receive pay.
Family and Medical Act Leave shall be granted to an eligible employee in the event of:
1) the birth and first year care of the child of the employee;
2) the placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care in the employee's home;
3) a serious health condition of the employee’s child, spouse, parent or spouse’s parent, necessitating the employee’s presence; or
4) a serious health condition of the employee which renders the employee unable to perform the duties of their job.
With certain exceptions, employees who take family or medical act leave shall be restored to the position held prior to going on Family and Medical Act Leave or to an equivalent position with equivalent benefits and pay. Employees shall maintain their employee health benefits during the period of leave but must continue to make any premium payments due.
The Department may designate an employee's leave as Family and Medical Act leave when appropriate even if the employee fails to so designate their leave as such.
Supervisors and other Department administrators may not deny the use of family and medical leave when the provisions of this policy have been met. In addition, it is unlawful to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of (or attempts to exercise) any right provided under the Family and Medical Leave Act or to discharge or discriminate against employees for opposing any practice made unlawful by the Family and Medical Leave Act law or for involvement in any proceeding relating to family and medical leave.
Qualifying Reasons
Both male and female employees may be eligible for Family and Medical Act Leave for any of the following reasons:
1) Pregnancy and birth of the employee’s child;
Illness related to pregnancy is deemed a serious health condition for purposes of family and medical leave, and all absences from work due to pregnancy related illnesses shall qualify for leave.
2) Care of the employee’s newborn child,
3) The placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care, and to care for the child after placement;
4) Care of the employee’s child, spouse or parent who has a serious health condition; or,
5) A serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of the position.
The word "Child” for the purposes of this policy means biological, adopted or foster child, stepchild or legal ward. “Child” also means child for whom the employee stands in loco parentis who is either under age 18 or age 18 or older and incapable of self-care because of mental or physical disability.“Parent” means: biological parent or an individual who stood in loco parentis to an employee when the employee was a child under age 18. “Parent” does not include parents” in law.”
In “ loco parentis” means having day to day responsibilities to care for and financially support a child.
Eligibility for Family and Medical Act Leave to care for a newborn child begins on the date of birth and ends twelve (12) months after the date of birth.
Eligibility for Family and Medical Act Leave due to the placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care may begin prior to the date of placement if absence from work is needed for the placement to proceed. Eligibility ends twelve (12) months after the date of placement.
Family and Medical Act Leave for a serious health condition is limited to the time determined to be medically necessary by the health care provider.
Federal regulations deem the State of Georgia as a single employer and when both husband and wife are eligible Family and Medical Act leave, they are limited to a combined total of twelve (12) workweeks of Family and Medical Act Leave in a calendar year for the following purposes:
- birth and care of the employee’s newborn child
- placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care, or to care for the child after placement: or
- care of the employee’s parent with a serious health condition,
However, each spouse is entitled to use the difference between the amount of Family and Medical Act Leave he or she has taken individually for one of the above reasons and the twelve (12) workweek maximum for other qualifying reasons.
Serious Health ConditionA “serious health condition” is defined as an illness, injury, impairment or physical or mental condition that involves:
1) Inpatient care in a hospital, hospice or residential medical care facility, including any period of incapacity or any further treatment in connection with the inpatient care; or
2) Continuing treatment by a health care provider which includes any one (1) or more of the following:
A period of incapacity of more than three (3) consecutive calendar days, and any additional treatment or period of incapacity relating to the same condition that also involves:
a) Treatment two (2) or more times by a health care provider, by a nurse or physician’s assistant under direct supervision of a health care provider, or other referred health care services provider, or
b) Treatment by a health care provider at least once which results in a regimen of continuing treatment (e.g., prescription medication) under the supervision of the health care provider:
c) Any period of incapacity due to pregnancy, or for prenatal care;
d) Any period of incapacity of or treatment due to a chronic serious health condition that requires periodic treatment, continues over an extended period of time, and may cause episodic rather than a continuing period of incapacity (e.g., asthma, diabetes, migraines, etc.);
e) Any period of absence to receive multiple treatments (including recovery period) either for restorative surgery after an accident or other injury or form a condition that would likely result in incapacitation of more than three (3) calendar days if not treated (e.g., chemotherapy for cancer, dialysis for kidney disease, etc.)
3) Family and Medical Act Leave may be taken for substance abuse treatment or to care for a child, spouse or parent who is receiving substance abuse treatment. However, absence because of an employee's use or abuse of drugs or alcohol, rather than for treatment, does not qualify for Family and Medical leave.
Health Care Provider
“Health care provider” means the following:
1) Doctors of medicine or osteopathy;
2) Podiatrists, dentists, clinical psychologists, optometrists;
3) Chiropractors (limited to treatment consisting of manual manipulation of the spine to correct a subluxation as demonstrated by X-ray to exist);
4) Nurse practitioners, nurse-midwives, clinical social workers;
5) Any health care provider from whom the Department or the Georgia Merit System Benefits Section will accept certification of the existence of a serious health condition a substantiate a claim for benefits; and,
6) Health care providers listed above who practice in a country other than the United States.
Time Frames
Eligible employees are entitled to up to twelve (12) work weeks of Family and Medical Act Leave in a 12 month period.
The twelve (12) workweeks of Family and Medical Act Leave are based on an employee’s regular work schedule. For example, full-time employees who regularly work five (5) days per workweek will be charged one (1) workweek of Family and Medical Act Leave for every five (5) days absent from work. Similarly, part-time employees who regularly work three (3) days per workweek will be charged one (1) workweek of Family and Medical Act Leave for every three (3) days absent from work. If a holiday(s) occurs during a week of Family and Medical Act Leave, the holiday(s) counts toward Family and Medical Act Leave as if it were a work day.
Posting Family and Medical Act Leave Information
Information regarding Family and Medical Act Leave and procedures for filing complaints of violations is included in the attached FAMILY AND MEDICAL ACT LEAVE NOTICE – YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT OF 1993. Department organizational units shall permanently post the notice in prominent locations where notices to employees and applicants are customarily displayed.
Employee ProceduresNotice
1) Employees are responsible for notifying the appropriate supervisors of the need for Family and Medical Act Leave.
2) Employees must give the appropriate supervisors adequate notice {usually thirty (30) calendar days} when Family and Medical Act Leave is foreseeable.
3) When thirty (30) calendar days advance notice is not possible, employees must give the appropriate supervisors notice as soon as they become aware that Family and Medical Act Leave is necessary.
NOTE: Family and Medical Act Leave may be delayed when adequate notice is not provided.
If Family and Medical Act Leave is foreseeable based on planned medical treatment, employees must make a reasonable effort to schedule the Family and Medical Act Leave, subject to the approval of the health care provider, when the operations of the work unit will not be unduly disrupted.
FormsWhen requesting Family and Medical Act Leave, employees are to provide a completed FAMILY AND MEDICAL ACT LEAVE REQUEST FORM to the appropriate supervisor, unless submitting this form is not possible. The following information must be provided:
- Beginning and ending dates of Family and Medical Act Leave;
- Election to use accrued annual, sick or personal leave, as appropriate or leave without pay and,
- Reason for the Family and Medical Act Leave.
NOTE: The reason for the leave must be explained in order to determine whether the leave qualifies for Family and Medical Act Leave.
Employees requesting Family and Medical Act Leave due to pregnancy, child birth, adoption or foster care are to provide to the appropriate supervisor the completed CERTIFICATION OF PREGNANCY/CHILD BIRTH, other medical statement with similar information, or the CERTIFICATION OF ADOPTION OR FOSTER CARE form, whichever is appropriate.
NOTE: Separate FAMILY AND MEDICAL ACT LEAVE REQUEST FORMS and certification forms are not needed to cover each absence. These forms only need to be submitted one time, unless the circumstances regarding pregnancy/child birth or placement change to the extent that updated information is needed by the supervisor.
Employees requesting Family and Medical Act Leave due to a serious health condition (other than pregnancy/child birth must provide to the appropriate supervisor a CERTIFICATION OF SERIOUS HEALTH CONDITION form, or other medical statement with similar information, completed by the attending health care provider.
NOTE: When a single serious health condition requires multiple absences (e.g., asthma, chemotherapy, etc.), a separate medical statement is not required for each absence.
When Family and Medical Act Leave for a serious health condition is foreseeable, this certification should be provided before the absence begins.
When it is not possible to provide this certification before Family and Medical Act Leave begins, employees must provide the certification within fifteen (15) calendar days of the date it is requested.
Supervisors who are not authorized to approve/deny Family and Medical Act Leave are to immediately forward all information regarding Family and Medical Act Leave to the appropriate authorized official for appropriate action.
Response
Authorized officials are to respond to Family and Medical Act Leave requests in writing within two (2) workdays, unless there are extenuating circumstances. (SAMPLE APPROVAL OF FAMILY AND MEDICAL ACT LEAVE FOR SERIOUS HEALTH CONDITION – EMPLOYEE, SAMPLE APPROVAL OF FAMILY AND MEDICAL ACT LEAVE FOR SERIOUS HEALTH CONDITION – FAMILY MEMBER, SAMPLE APPROVAL OF FAMILY AND MEDICAL ACT LEAVE and SAMPLE DENIAL OF FAMILY AND MEDICAL ACT LEAVE)
Approval notices must specify the terms and conditions of the Family and Medical Act Leave and advise employees of their right to return to work.
Denial notices must include the reason that the Family and Medical Act Leave was not approved.
If sufficient information is not available to determine whether Family and Medical Act Leave should be approved, authorized officials may conditionally approve the Family and Medical Act Leave contingent upon receiving required documentation. (See SAMPLE DESIGNATION OF CONDITIONAL FAMILY)
If the request is based on a serious health condition, the conditional approval notice is to include a statement that a completed CERTIFICATION OF PREGNANCY/CHILD BIRTH form (if the absence is pregnancy related.). CERTIFICATION OF SERIOUS HEALTH CONDITION form (if the absence is not pregnancy related), or other medical statement with similar information, must be submitted to the authorized official within fifteen (15) calendar days.
When the required documentation is received, employees will be advised if the Family and Medical Act Leave is approved or denied.
If the required documentation is not provided, the absence will not qualify for Family and Medical Act Leave.
If timely notice is not provided to the employee, Family and Medical Act Leave may only be charged from the date that the notice is actually provided to the employee.
Concerns
Employees who believe that their Family and Medical Act Leave requests have not been processed correctly should discuss their concerns with the appropriate supervisor, human resource/personnel representative.
Designating Family and Medical Act LeaveSupervisors and/or authorized officials are to make this designation as soon as they determine Family and Medical Act Leave is appropriate. Supervisors and/or authorized officials may learn that an absence, or part of an absence, from work qualifies for Family and Medical Act Leave either during or after the period of leave. In these circumstances, Family and Medical Act Leave may be designated as follows:
1) When supervisors and/or authorized officials learn that an employee is eligible for Family and Medical Act Leave during a period of leave, any portion of the absence from work which qualifies for Family and Medical Act Leave may be designated as such if the employee is given timely notice.
NOTE: Timely notice means notifying the employee that the absence will be counted as Family and Medical Act Leave within two (2) work days after learning that Family and Medical Act Leave is appropriate, unless there are extenuating circumstances.
2) Absences from work may only be retroactively designated as Family and Medical Act Leave after an employee has returned to work under the following circumstances:
a) When supervisors and/or authorized officials learn the reason for the leave only after an employee has returned to work, and
b) The employee is notified within two (2) workdays of returning that the leave will count as Family and Medical Act Leave.
Pay Status/BenefitsEmployees may choose to use accrued leave to continue to receive pay during a period of Family and Medical Act Leave, take leave without pay, or use a combination of both to cover the absence from work with supervisory approval. Use of accrued leave must comply with Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education/Personnel Procedure – ACCRUED LEAVE (e.g., sick leave can be used only for reasons that qualify for sick leave).
Since leave donations are credited to recipients’ sick leave balances, employees who are on Family and Medical Act Leave can only use donated leave for absences that also qualify for use of sick leave.
Persons who are absent from work because they are discharging earned Fair Labor Standards Act compensatory time may not concurrently be charged with using Family and Medical Act leave.
While on Family and Medical Act Leave, employees who have health insurance benefits through the State Health Benefit Plan are entitled to maintain this health insurance coverage at the employee rate.
If premiums change while employees are on Family and Medical Act Leave, they are responsible for paying the new premiums.
In order to maintain health insurance and any benefits through the Flexible Benefits Program (e.g., Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance. Dental Insurance, etc.)
Employees on Family and Medical Act Leave without pay will be advised of the cost for maintaining health insurance and any benefits through the Flexible Benefits Program, arrangements for making payment and consequences for not making timely payments.
Employees on Family and Medical Act Leave without pay must complete and submit the following forms to their human resource/personnel representative:
1) REQUEST TO CONTINUE HEALTH BENEFITS DURING LEAVE OF ABSENCE WITHOUT PAY (See SAMPLE ELECTION TO CONTINUE GROUP TERM LIFE INSURANCE WHILE ON LEAVE WITHOUT PAY), and
2) DISABILITY CERTIFICATION (Form MS66-005), if appropriate.
Employees with at least one (1) year of participation in the Group Term Life Insurance Program under the Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) may retain coverage while on Family and Medical Act Leave without pay. A request to continue coverage must be made in writing to ERS prior to beginning the Family and Medical Act Leave without pay. Coverage terminates if this written request is not received.
System Entry
Supervisors or authorized designees are to complete requests for personnel action to place employees on Family and Medical Act Leave with and/or without pay.
RecertificationEmployees on Family and Medical Act Leave due to a serious health condition may be required to provide recertification of the serious health condition on a reasonable basis. Recertification cannot be required more often than every thirty (30) calendar days.
Intermittent/Reduced Leave ScheduleFamily and Medical Act Leave may be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule under certain circumstances.
Intermittent leave is leave taken in separate blocks of time due to a single qualifying reason (e.g., morning sickness, prenatal examinations).
A reduced leave schedule reduces employees’ normal work hours per workweek or per work day.
Family and Medical Act Leave may be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule when medically necessary or to provide care or psychological comfort to a qualifying family member with a serious health condition.
A medical statement is not required for each absence when Family and Medical Act Leave is taken intermittently. Documentation may be required initially, and recertification may be required no more often than every thirty (30) calendar days.
Family and Medical Act Leave taken to care for a newborn child or for placement of a child for adoption or foster care may be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule ONLY with supervisory approval, unless the absence involves a qualifying serious health condition.
Employees who request Family and Medical Act Leave on an intermittent or reduced leave schedule basis may be required to temporarily transfer to an available alternative position that better accommodates recurring periods of absence.
The alternative position must have equivalent pay and benefits, but is not required to have equivalent duties.
Employees must not be transferred to alternative positions in order to discourage the use of Family and Medical Act Leave or to positions that represent a hardship (e.g., employees may not be transferred to a less desirable shift).
When the need for intermittent leave or a reduced leave schedule ends and employees are able to return to their normal work schedules, they must be returned to their former positions or equivalent positions.
Only the amount of leave actually taken on an intermittent or reduced leave schedule basis may be counted toward the twelve (12) workweeks of Family and Medical Act Leave. For example, employees who normally work five (5) days per workweek and take off one (1) day for intermittent Family and Medical Act Leave will be charged 1/5 workweek of Family and Medical Act Leave. Similarly, full-time employees who reduce a workweek from forty (40) to twenty (20) hours are charged ½ workweek of Family and Medical Act Leave.
Return to WorkEmployees who have complied with the terms and conditions in the Family and Medical Act Leave approval notice are entitled to return to the same position, or an equivalent position with the same pay and grade, benefits and comparable working conditions, at the expiration of Family and Medical Act Leave.
Employees do not retain this entitlement if at the expiration of Family and Medical Act Leave, they are unable to perform the essential functions of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation, due to physical or mental condition.
Employees on Family and Medical Act Leave do not have greater rights to return to work than they would have if they had continuously remained at work. For example, employees who are on Family and Medical Act Leave during a staff reduction do not have a right to return to work if they are laid off due to the staff reduction.
Employees returning from Family and Medical Act Leave due to their own serious health condition may be required to submit a return-to-work statement from the attending health care provider prior to returning to work. This statement must certify that the essential functions of the position can be performed with or without reasonable accommodation. Employees who do not provide a required statement should not be allowed to return to work.
Supervisors or authorized designees are to submit completed requests for personnel action, as appropriate, for employees returning from Family and Medical Act Leave.
Record Keeping
All Family and Medical Act Leave related employment records must be maintained for at least three (3) years and made available upon request by the U. S. Department of Labor. These records include, but are not limited to the following:
1) Correspondence between the employee and supervisor and/or authorized official regarding Family and Medical Act Leave;
2) Records of any dispute regarding designation of leave as Family and Medical Act Leave; and
3) Any documents describing employee benefits or Department policies and practices regarding the taking of paid and unpaid leave.
ConfidentialityMedical information related to Family and Medical Act Leave is confidential and is available to individuals on a “need to know” basis only.
References
FAMILY AND MEDICAL ACT LEAVE NOTICE – YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT OF 1993
FAMILY AND MEDICAL ACT LEAVE REQUEST FORM
CERTIFICATION OF PREGNANCY/CHILD BIRTH
CERTIFICATION OF ADOPTION OR FOSTER CARE
CERTIFICATION OF SERIOUS HEALTH CONDITION
SAMPLE APPROVAL OF FAMILY AND MEDICAL ACT LEAVE FOR SERIOUS HEALTH CONDITION – EMPLOYEE
SAMPLE APPROVAL OF FAMILY AND MEDICAL ACT LEAVE FOR SERIOUS HEALTH CONDITION – FAMILY MEMBER
SAMPLE APPROVAL OF FAMILY AND MEDICAL ACT LEAVE
SAMPLE DENIAL OF FAMILY AND MEDICAL ACT LEAVE
SAMPLE DESIGNATION OF CONDITIONAL FAMILY
SAMPLE DESIGNATION OF FAMILY AND MEDICAL ACT LEAVE WITHOUT A REQUEST
SAMPLE ELECTION TO CONTINUE GROUP TERM LIFE INSURANCE WHILE ON LEAVE WITHOUT PAY
Created: October 3, 2001
Code 03-04-14