GENERAL PURPOSE: Salt Lake City Corporation is covered by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”). This policy explains the circumstances under which eligible employees may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per 12 month period for certain family and medical reasons and qualifying exigency leave and up to 26 workweeks of unpaid military caregiver leave.
I. THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (“FMLA”) IS A FEDERAL LAW WHICH:
A. Entitles eligible employees to job protected, unpaid leave for up to 12 weeks per qualifying 12 month period for certain qualifying events and health conditions;
B. Provides military family leave entitlements;
C. Provides for continuation of group health plan benefits during FMLA leave;
D. Restores the employee to the same or an equivalent job upon return to work; and,
E. Protects the employee from discrimination as a result of taking FMLA leave.
II. QUALIFYING EVENTS FOR WHICH FMLA CAN BE TAKEN
A. The birth and care of a newborn child of the employee;
B. Placement with the employee of a child through adoption or foster care;
C. A serious health condition of the employee;
D. The care for a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition;
E. For qualifying exigencies arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, child or parent is on active duty or called to active duty status as a member of the National Guard or Reserves in support of a contingency operation. Qualifying exigencies are:
1. Short-notice deployment;
2. Military events and related activities;
3. Child care and school activities;
4. Financial and legal arrangements;
5. Counseling;
6. Rest and recuperation;
7. Post deployment activities; and
8. Additional activities not encompassed in the other categories, but agreed to by the employer and the employee.
F. For military caregiver leave for an employee who is the spouse, child, parent or next of kin of a covered service member who is a current member of the Armed Forces, including the National Guard or Reserves, and who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, therapy, or outpatient treatment, or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty on active duty that may render the service member medically unfit to perform the duties of his or her office, grade, rank, or rating.
III. FMLA LEAVE WHEN HUSBAND AND WIFE BOTH WORK FOR THE CITY
A. A husband and wife who are eligible for FMLA leave and are both employed by the City are limited to a combined total of 12 weeks of leave during the 12 month period if the leave is taken:
1. for the birth and care of a newborn child of the employee;
2. for the placement of a child with the employee through adoption or foster care; or
3. to care for the employee’s parent with a serious health condition.
B. If husband and wife are both employed by the City they are limited to a combined total of 26 workweeks in a “single 12-month period” if the leave is to care for a covered service member with a qualifying serious injury or illness.
IV. EMPLOYEE ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible for FMLA leave, the employee must be:
A. employed by the City for at total of at least 12 months and
B. have worked at least 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months.
V. 12 MONTH PERIOD DURING WHICH FMLA LEAVE CAN BE TAKEN
A. The 12 month period during which the 12 weeks of FMLA leave can be taken for events set forth in I.A – E is measured forward from the date the employee’s first FMLA leave begins.
B. The “single 12 month period” during which the 26 workweeks of qualified military caregiver leave can be taken begins on the first date of covered military caregiver leave and ends 12 months later, regardless of the date used to determine the employee’s 12 weeks of leave entitlement for other FMLA qualifying reasons.
C. An eligible employee is limited to a combined total of 26 weeks of leave for any FMLA qualifying reason during the “single 12 month period.”
VI. EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITIES
An employee will:
A. Provide notice to his/her supervisor of the need for leave:
1. for leave that is foreseeable – at least 30 days in advance;
2. for leave that is unforeseeable – as soon as is practicable.
B. Advise his/her supervisor if the leave is to be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule basis.
C. Provide the information required by the City as set forth in the City’s FMLA forms. Failure to provide the required information may result in the denial of FMLA leave, a delay in the start of FMLA leave, a delay in the restoration of the employee to his/her position, or unprotected leave status.
D. Comply with arrangements to pay the employee-paid portion of the group health plan benefit premiums (See Section XI).
E. Periodically advise his/her supervisor, at least every 30 days, of his/her condition, or the condition of his/her spouse, child or parent, and the intent to return to work at the conclusion of leave.
F. Notify his/her supervisor of any changes in the circumstances for which leave is being taken.
G. Provide a fitness for duty certification if required by the City prior to the employee’s return to work.
VII. THE CITY’S RESPONSIBILITIES
As the employer, the City, through its designees, will:
A. Maintain coverage of group health plan benefits at the level and under the conditions coverage would have been provided if the employee had continued in employment without utilizing FMLA leave.
B. Determine and notify the employee whether the leave will be counted against the employee’s FMLA leave entitlement.
C. Provide the employee appropriate forms to document the employee’s qualification for FMLA leave.
D. Notify the employee of the requirement to substitute paid leave for the FMLA leave.
E. Notify the employee of the requirements for making the employee-paid portion of group health plan benefit premium payments and the consequences for failing to make timely payments.
F. Notify the employee of the requirements to submit a fitness for duty certificate to be restored to employment.
G. Notify the employee of his/her status as a “key employee,” if applicable (See Section XIID).
H. Notify the employee of his/her right to return to his/her position or an equivalent position when leave is completed.
I. Notify the employee of his/her potential liability to reimburse the City for the employer-paid group health plan benefit premium payments made while the employee is on unpaid FMLA leave, if the employee fails to return to work after the FMLA leave.
VIII. MEDICAL AND MILITARY CERTIFICATION
A. The City will require medical certification of any serious health condition of the employee or of the serious health condition of the employee’s spouse, parent or child.
B. The employee shall provide certification to support leave for qualifying exigencies or to care for a covered service member.
C. If the FMLA leave is foreseeable, the employee shall provide the medical certification prior to taking the leave.
D. If the FMLA leave is not foreseeable, the employee shall provide medical certification within 15 days after being requested to do so by the City.
E. The City reserves its right to require, at its own expense, second and third medical opinions, as allowed by the FMLA.
IX. USE OF PAID LEAVE IS REQUIRED BEFORE TAKING UNPAID FMLA LEAVE
The City requires all employees utilizing FMLA leave to exhaust their paid leave allotments prior to taking FMLA leave unpaid. The paid leave parameters are defined by the employee’s contract or compensation plan.
A. FMLA leave for qualifying events, other than the serious health condition of the employee
1. Plan A
a. paid leave comes first from dependent leave, in the amount allowed in the contract/compensation plan.
b. the remaining leave comes from the employee’s vacation time.
2. Plan B
a. either personal leave time and/or vacation time can be used
b. severance account hours can be used in the same manner as sick leave hours are allowed under Plan A.
B. FMLA leave for the serious health condition of the employee
1. Plan A
a. paid leave comes first from hospital leave (when appropriate);
b. followed by all sick leave;
c. followed by vacation time.
2. Plan B
a. paid leave will be provided when appropriate from the Short Term Disability Insurance Program
b. personal leave, severance account hours, and vacation time will then be utilized in that order.
C. Compensatory time may be used for an FMLA reason but any period of leave paid from the employee’s accrued compensatory time account will not be counted against the employee’s FMLA leave entitlement.
D. Leave taken for a serious health condition covered under Workers’ Compensation will be counted towards an employee’s FMLA entitlement. Accrued paid leave may be used at the same time the employee is collecting a Workers’ Compensation benefit only to the extent that it allows the employee to collect 100% of his/her net salary.
E. When on unpaid FMLA leave the employee will not be eligible to receive paid City holidays.
X. INTERMITTENT LEAVE
A. Leave may be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule when medically necessary for medical treatment of a serious health condition, for recovery from such treatment or from the serious health condition, or when the serious health condition of a spouse, parent or child of the employee requires intermittent treatment and requires the employee’s care and/or involvement in the treatment and/or the care of the parent, child, or spouse. Leave may also be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule when medically necessary to care for a covered service member and for a qualifying exigency.
B. When the need for intermittent or reduced schedule FMLA leave is foreseeable, the employee must make reasonable attempts to arrange the schedule of the leave so as not to unduly disrupt the City’s operations.
C. The employee taking intermittent leave under the FMLA may be required to transfer temporarily to an available alternative position for which the employee is qualified. The alternative position must have equivalent pay and benefits and better accommodate recurring periods of leave than the employee’s regular position.
D. FMLA leave taken for the birth or adoption of a child or for the placement of a foster child in the employee’s home cannot be taken on an intermittent or reduced leave schedule.
XI. BENEFITS WHILE ON FMLA LEAVE
A. For the duration of FMLA leave, the City will pay the City-paid portion of the premiums for group health plan benefit coverage, which includes medical insurance coverage, Basic Employee Term Life Insurance, and Short Term Disability Insurance, subject to Section XIA3.
1. While on FMLA leave utilizing paid leave, the employee-paid portion of the group health plan benefit premiums are deducted from employee’s check as usual.
2. When FMLA leave is unpaid, the employee must contact the Benefits Section of Human Resources (801-535-7900) to make arrangements to pay the employee portion of the insurance premiums. The employee and the City will agree in writing as to the way the employee-paid portion of the group health benefit plan premium payments will be paid, under the four allowable options:
a. Payment would be due at the same time as it would be made if by payroll deduction;
b. Payment would be due on the same schedule as payments are made under COBRA;
c. Payment would be prepaid pursuant to a cafeteria plan at the employee’s option; or
d. Prepayment of the employee-paid portion of the group benefit plan premiums through increased payroll deductions before the leave is taken, when the need for unpaid FMLA leave is foreseeable, or payment of the employee-paid portion of the group benefit plan premiums through increased deductions after the employee returns to work following unpaid FMLA leave when the need for unpaid FMLA leave is not foreseeable.
3. If the employee-paid portion of the group health plan benefit premium is more than 30 days late, the City’s obligation to maintain group health plan insurance coverage will cease.
a. The City, through its designee, will provide written notice at least 15 days prior to the date coverage will be cancelled that payment has not been received.
b. The employee will have 15 days after the date of notification, or 30 days from the date the premium was due, whichever is greater, to make the required premium payment(s).
c. If the employee fails to pay his/her portion of the group health plan benefit premium(s), the employee will lose his/her group health plan benefit coverage.
B. The City is not responsible for maintaining non-health care related benefits paid directly by the employee through voluntary deductions (dental, supplemental and dependent life insurance, accident insurance plans, or LTD). It is the employee’s responsibility to make arrangements through the Benefits Section of Human Resources (801-535-7900) for the payment of those benefit premiums when on unpaid FMLA leave.
C. If an employee fails to return to work after unpaid FMLA leave has ended, the employee shall reimburse the City all City-paid group health plan benefit premiums it paid on behalf of the employee unless the failure to return from leave is due to:
1. the continuation, recurrence, or onset of a serious health condition of the employee or the employee’s family member which would otherwise entitle the employee to leave under FMLA;
2. other circumstances beyond the employee’s control.
D. An employee is considered to have returned to work following FMLA leave if he/she returns for at least 30 calendar days.
E. An employee’s seniority will not be interrupted if the employee utilizes paid leave while on FMLA leave. Once paid leave is exhausted, no seniority or pension credit will be accumulated for the unpaid FMLA leave time. Upon return from unpaid leave the employee’s seniority will continue where the accumulation left off.
XII. RETURN TO WORK AFTER FMLA LEAVE
A. Upon return to work following FMLA leave, the employee must provide a medical certification of the employee’s fitness to return to work if the FMLA leave was taken for the employee’s own serious health condition.
B. If the employee fails to provide a fitness certificate after being notified by the City of the need for the certificate, the City, through its designee, may delay the employee’s return to work until the fitness certificate is provided.
C. An employee will be returned to his/her job or an equivalent job with equivalent pay, benefits, and working conditions, if the original job is not available.
D. Key employees that earn salaries in the top ten percent of Salt Lake City Corporation’s workforce and whose return would cause “substantial and grievous economic injury” or hardship to the City’s operations may not be reinstated.
E. The City may take any personnel action/decision that would have happened if the employee had continued to work while the employee is on FMLA leave.
Original Effective Date March 30, 2000
Effective Date of Amendment per Department of Labor: January 16, 2009
Date Signed by Mayor: April 6, 2009
(Policy Amendment: Change in Federal Law and Regulations)