Family Medical Leave Overview

Kelly White Author

11/29/2021 Added

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Overview of what is Family Medical Leave at the University

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[00:00:02.252]Thank you for joining us today.
[00:00:04.285]This video is an overview of the
[00:00:05.902]University of Nebraska's
[00:00:07.567]Family Medical Leave policy.
[00:00:09.634]It's useful for all employees, providing
[00:00:11.584]basic information about the policy
[00:00:14.165]and next steps if time away
[00:00:15.831]from work is needed.
[00:00:17.398]Family Medical Leave allows employees
[00:00:19.576]to take unpaid time off for family and
[00:00:21.507]medical reasons while protecting their job
[00:00:23.876]and continuing group health insurance.
[00:00:26.587]The university's family medical leave
[00:00:28.986]policy is based on the federal labor law
[00:00:30.988]the Family Medical Leave Act or FMLA.
[00:00:33.837]The university policy is often called FML
[00:00:37.570]and is slightly different than the FMLA.
[00:00:40.237]We will cover those differences in this
[00:00:42.769]overview.
[00:00:45.755]So what does job protection mean
[00:00:47.689]and why should employees use FML?
[00:00:49.804]It unlawful for any employer to engage in
[00:00:52.888]adverse action against employees because
[00:00:54.888]they use or request FML.
[00:00:57.038]This simply means the university can't
[00:00:59.205]interfere with, restrain, or deny the
[00:01:02.107]exercise of or the attempt to
[00:01:04.360]exercise any right provided by
[00:01:06.205]the FMLA. This includes actions like
[00:01:08.486]discharge, discrimination or retaliation.
[00:01:11.360]Secondly, the employee's benefits remain
[00:01:13.672]the same as if the employee's working.
[00:01:15.773]And lastly, upon return from FML,
[00:01:18.989]the employee is placed in the same or
[00:01:21.156]equivalent postion.
[00:01:22.805]In terms of eligibility for Family Medical
[00:01:26.571]Leave at the university, the university's
[00:01:29.338]policy is slightly different than the
[00:01:31.475]regulations. The regulations have a
[00:01:33.354]waiting period and a minimum amount
[00:01:35.314]of hours worked. So at the
[00:01:37.713]university, all regular employees
[00:01:39.430]working at least half-time are eligible
[00:01:41.531]at the start of employment.
[00:01:43.248]And then, all other employees who
[00:01:45.613]worked at least 1,250 hours in the
[00:01:48.400]preceding 12 months are eligible.
[00:01:53.330]Employees are eligible for up to 12 weeks
[00:01:55.717]or 480 hours for a serious health
[00:01:58.798]condition of the employee; serious health
[00:02:02.467]condition of an eligible family member;
[00:02:05.434]birth or adoption; death of a family
[00:02:07.900]member; and then military exigency for a
[00:02:10.767]covered family member.
[00:02:13.100]26 weeks are available to care for
[00:02:15.467]a family member who is a military service
[00:02:17.700]member with a serious injury or illness.
[00:02:20.577]It should be noted that part-time
[00:02:22.330]employees are eligible based on their
[00:02:24.200]schedule and will be prorated as such.
[00:02:26.250]In terms of how all eligibility is counted
[00:02:30.334]UNL uses a rolling 12-month method
[00:02:33.394]to count eligibility rather than a
[00:02:35.224]calendar year.
[00:02:42.218]Employees may be absent for a long
[00:02:45.201]duration like several consecutive days or
[00:02:48.501]weeks, all day, every day; or they could
[00:02:52.151]be absent on an intermittent or
[00:02:54.251]reduced schedule basis. For example,
[00:02:57.035]a few hours per day or a few days per week
[00:03:00.535]for several weeks in a row.
[00:03:03.301]When the leave is needed for planned
[00:03:05.285]medical treatment, the employee must make
[00:03:07.485]a reasonable effort to schedule treatment
[00:03:10.237]so as to not unduly disrupt the employer's
[00:03:12.701]operation.
[00:03:16.218]Family Medical Leave is unpaid; however,
[00:03:19.051]employees who earn leave may choose
[00:03:21.601]to go unpaid during that time or they may
[00:03:25.045]choose to use paid leave that would be
[00:03:28.078]in accordance with the relevant policies
[00:03:30.131]like vacation, sick leave, parental leave
[00:03:32.568]holiday, compensatory time earned
[00:03:34.928]and crisis leave.
[00:03:37.557]In terms of sick leave, the university has
[00:03:39.724]a policy that in some cases sick leave is
[00:03:42.075]limited to five days for family members.
[00:03:45.308]Employees can review the policy to
[00:03:46.979]learn more.
[00:03:48.851]The most common question we receive is
[00:03:50.734]"What is a serious health condition?"
[00:03:52.557]It's defined by the Family Medical Leave
[00:03:55.084]Act regulations and it means a disabling
[00:03:57.599]physical or mental illness, injury, or
[00:04:00.534]impairment that requires any of
[00:04:03.351]the following:
[00:04:05.249]inpatient care; constant in-home care;
[00:04:08.150]or continuing treatment by a
[00:04:10.167]health care provider.
[00:04:12.000]That could be more than three days plus
[00:04:14.633]treatment or incapacity,
[00:04:16.650]treatment one time plus a regimen of
[00:04:19.066]continuing treatments; or
[00:04:20.933]a chronic condition with periodic visits,
[00:04:23.816]recurring episodes, etc.
[00:04:28.350]A healthcare provider will certify
[00:04:30.865]whether the reason for leave is a
[00:04:32.582]serious health condition or not.
[00:04:35.233]Some examples within this definition
[00:04:37.533]include; in-patient or outpatient
[00:04:40.880]treatment or care; pregnancy or prenatal
[00:04:44.779]care; minor or major surgery; major organ
[00:04:49.789]damage and treatment; mental health
[00:04:52.721]conditions including symptoms and
[00:04:55.137]counseling sessions; permanent or lifetime
[00:04:58.561]conditions of incapacity;
[00:05:00.745]chronic conditions that require multiple
[00:05:03.395]treatments; chronic pain with incapacity;
[00:05:07.311]more than a three day illness with
[00:05:09.995]continued treatment which would be
[00:05:11.929]something like a serious flu, pneumonia,
[00:05:15.345]infections, etc.
[00:05:23.566]As soon as an employee is aware of the
[00:05:26.148]need for time away from work and they may
[00:05:28.766]be eligible for Family Medical Leave,
[00:05:30.582]there are six steps to follow.
[00:05:32.666]Review the policy at the HR website.
[00:05:35.466]Communicate with their supervisor
[00:05:38.083]about time off needed and expected
[00:05:39.866]return time. Complete the forms.
[00:05:43.415]Upon approval, submit leave requests and
[00:05:47.565]indicate "Family Medical Leave" so that
[00:05:50.232]the leave can be tracked. Contact the unit
[00:05:54.499]payroll office to discuss any unpaid leave
[00:05:56.931]to understand the financial impact to
[00:05:58.782]a paycheck and also any requirement to
[00:06:01.781]pay for benefits during the absence.
[00:06:06.832]Lastly, upon return to work, provide a
[00:06:08.999]medical return or release document
[00:06:10.732]indicating any request in modified work
[00:06:13.098]including a fitness for duty document
[00:06:16.238]that's required by the unit.
[00:06:19.004]As always, employees can contact the
[00:06:21.546]unit HR or Payroll office or the campus HR
[00:06:24.116]office with any questions.
[00:06:28.048]Supervisors are responsible for ensuring
[00:06:30.200]employees are aware of the FML policy and
[00:06:32.482]related benefits. Because when absenteeism
[00:06:35.249]occurs, supervisors are aware that the
[00:06:37.600]employee is gone. Five steps should be
[00:06:41.749]followed. Review the policy at the
[00:06:45.015]HR website. Review absenteeism records
[00:06:48.599]and keep FML eligibility in mind.
[00:06:51.532]For example, if an employee is absent
[00:06:53.715]more than three days or absent at a
[00:06:55.948]high or unusual rate, the supervisor
[00:06:58.365]should speak with the employee and
[00:07:00.132]talk about FML eligibility.
[00:07:03.098]If an employee mentions the reason
[00:07:04.748]for time off and the supervisor believes
[00:07:07.115]the reason is FML qualifying, the
[00:07:09.564]supervisor would go to the third step
[00:07:11.664]which is notify the employee and the
[00:07:13.881]HR representative at the unit that the
[00:07:15.897]employee might be eligible for FML and
[00:07:18.831]then follow the unit processes for
[00:07:20.648]requesting and approving time off.
[00:07:23.648]Upon approval, the supervisor will ensure
[00:07:26.498]the employee is aware they need to
[00:07:28.914]indicate "FML" on the leave request and
[00:07:31.581]absenteeism record. And lastly,
[00:07:35.001]upon return to work, the supervisor
[00:07:37.368]will review the medical return to release
[00:07:39.984]document and any fitness for duty
[00:07:41.867]information with the employee, discussing
[00:07:44.886]any concerns or needs that the
[00:07:46.803]employee has before they return to work.
[00:07:49.719]As a special notice to supervisors:
[00:07:52.886]All FML-related documents and information
[00:07:55.425]must be treated as private and
[00:07:56.925]confidential. Supervisors may connect
[00:07:59.525]with the unit HR representative or
[00:08:02.126]campus HR with any questions.
[00:08:10.608]There are several resources available to
[00:08:13.206]employees who need more information.
[00:08:16.257]The UNL Human Resources Office may be
[00:08:19.057]contacted by phone, email, or by
[00:08:22.074]visiting the website. In addition, the
[00:08:25.692]United Stated Department of Labor
[00:08:27.658]has a website available dedicated to
[00:08:30.057]answering questions related to Family
[00:08:31.907]Medical Leave and the regulations involved
[00:08:38.056]Thank you for attending this session.
[00:08:39.873]Please contact Human Resources
[00:08:41.807]with any questions.

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Family Medical Leave Overview

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