Family, Medical, and
Pregnancy Leaves of Absence
Purpose of Process (see below how HRnetSource™ can help):
To provide employees with time off for medical, pregnancy, and family leave purposes in a manner that is:
- Fair and equitable,
- Compliant with regulations, and
- Supportive of company needs.
Recommended Steps in the Process:
- An employee requests a medical leave, preferably before the
leave commences. If that is not possible due to the timing of
the disability, then the employee should request a medical leave
as soon as possible after beginning the leave.
- If during the meeting with the employee, it appears that the
employee's condition may qualify for leave under the Family and
Medical Leave Act (FMLA), then the burden shifts to the company
to make further inquiry about whether the conditions actually
qualifies for leave under the FMLA. To determine if the leave
request does qualify for Family Leave, have the employee
complete a Family Leave Request form (see
sample form). Confirm the employee's eligibility for
Family Leave. (See sample "Information
about FMLA Leave" document) In addition, if the request is
for care for child, spouse, or parent with a serious
health condition, have the employee complete a
Certification of Physician or Practitioner form (see
sample form). [Note that if you doubt the validity of the
Certification, you can at company expense, obtain a second
opinion from another health care provider (cannot be an employee
of the company).]
- If you are not able to meet with the employee prior to leave,
send the Family Leave Request form
and the Certification of Physician or
Practitioner form via registered mail, return receipt
requested, along with a letter requesting the forms to be
returned promptly and stating that the company is counting the
leave time as family leave pending receipt of the proper medical
certification. If the employee does not return the completed
forms within 15 days, send a follow-up letter stating that
failure to return the form within another 10 days may result in
disciplinary action for unauthorized leave (up to and including
termination). [Note: Prior to taking serious disciplinary action
consider past practice, equitable treatment, and compassion
(e.g. you probably don't want to terminate an employee whose
spouse is on their death bed)].
- If the employee is determined to be eligible for Family leave,
send them written confirmation along with the Information
about Family Leave document. Also refer to the Information
about Family Leave for guidelines on intermittent leave.
- Calculate the cost of the health insurance premiums during the
leave, if applicable. Request the employee to pay this amount in
advance of the leave.
If the company offers Cafeteria Plans (e.g. pre-tax employee health premiums), the IRS provides payment options for employees on Family Leave. The employee can:- Pre-pay out of pre-leave paychecks and continue to receive the pre-tax benefit,
- Pay-as-you-go and make the payments in pre-tax dollars out of vacation and/or sick pay, if available, otherwise make the payments in after-tax dollars, or
- Catch-up the payments after return from leave by increasing the employee's withholdings. This option requires prior written approval from the employee.
If an employee on family leave is 15 days late with the premium payment, notify the employee that coverage will end if the premium is not paid within another 15 days. If the premium was not paid by the second 15 days, benefit coverage can cease. The benefit stop date can be retroactive to the premium due date as long as this practice is consistently applied. When the employee returns from family leave, coverage must be restored without any requalification.
- Obtain a note from the employee's physician requesting the
leave of absence for the employee.
- Provide the employee with the following additional
information:
- Medical, Family and Pregnancy policy (see sample policy)
- Request for Medical Leave of Absence form (see sample form)
- Disability plan description and claim forms
- Important Information About FMLA Leave notice (for Family
Leave only -see sample notice).
- Notify other departments (e.g. Security, Payroll, Accounting,
etc.) of the leave, if necessary.
- Note the employee's leave date and expected return date in a
Leave of Absence log book.
- Check the log periodically. Determine if the length of the
employee leave makes him/her eligible for long term disability
benefits (See the Benefits process).
If so, send the employee a Long Term Disability claim form and
Summary Plan Description. Call the employee to verify the
expected return date. If it has been extended, request a note
from the employee's doctor.
- Before the employee returns to work, he/she must submit a note
from the doctor, releasing him/her to return to work.
- Upon the employee's return, place the Request for Medical Leave of Absence form in the employee's Personnel file.
Process Tips:
Under California law, time spent on medical leave for pregnancy does not count against Family Leave. The employee on pregnancy disability will first use her medical leave until she is released from her doctor (up to a maximum of four months). At that point Family Leave will start if the employee requests addition leave. If the employee thinks she will request family leave, have her complete the Request for Family Leave of Absence form before beginning the leave, with the exception of the child's birth date, start date, and return date. Have the manager sign the form, make a copy for your records, and give the form back to the employee. The employee must return the completed form after the birth of the child, when the missing information is known.
The Employment Law HQ.com website offers a
tool to help determine FMLA eligibility. Although this tool is
intended for employees, it can also be a helpful tool for
employers.
Also see information on coordinating ADA compliance with FMLA compliance and on the definition of Serious Health Condition.
HRSource™ and SelfSource™ can support the family, medical, and pregnancy leave process:
- HRSource™ tracks leave start and end dates.
- Employees can request leave, managers can approve leave, and HR can concur through SelfSource™.
- Managers and employees can view leave history in SelfSource™.
- HRSource™ can provide alerts when the expected return date is approaching.
- A standard HRSource report displays the number of hours of
family leave each employee has taken in the last floating
12-month period.
