Family Medical Leave Act

In accordance with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (including revisions effective January, 2009), WPI has established a policy to allow employees to take a period of unpaid leave for the care of family members under specifically defined circumstances. Regular employees who have been employed by the university for at least 12 months for 1250 hours over the previous 12 months, may request leave under this policy for the following reasons:

 

For purposes of this policy, a "serious health condition" is defined as an injury, illness, or physical or mental condition involving either an overnight stay in a medical facility or continuing treatment by a health care provider that either prevents the employee from performing the functions of the employee's job or prevents the qualified family member from participating in school or daily activities. Requests for leave to care for other seriously ill family members or members of an employee's household may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Length of Allowable Leave

Family medical leaves may be approved for a maximum of 12 weeks in a 12-month period. For purposes of this policy, a "rolling" 12-month period will be used, measured backwards from the date an employee uses any family medical leave.

Spouses or Domestic Partners who are both employed by the University are allowed a combined total of 12 weeks of family medical leave within a 12-month period for the care of a newborn or adopted child, or to care for a parent with a serious health condition. If leave is requested due to the illness of a child or of the other spouse or domestic partner each would be allowed 12 weeks of leave.

In the case of the serious health condition of a family member, employees may request leave in continuous periods, intermittent periods, or by a reduced work schedule, to a total of 12 weeks. In cases of reduced schedules or intermittent leave, a department supervisor may transfer the employee temporarily to an alternative position to accommodate the needs of the work area. In such situations, the employee’s salary rate and benefits should remain the same.

Leave to care for a newborn or a newly adopted child should normally be taken in continuous periods and must be taken within 12 months of the birth or placement of the child. Intermittent leave or reduced schedules may be arranged only if agreed to by both the department supervisor and the employee.

Requests for family medical leave to exceed 12 weeks will be reviewed in accordance with the specific circumstances of the request, considerations of work coverage, and the provisions of the University's general policy on leave without pay.

Requesting Family Medical Leave

Employees are expected to provide as much advance notice of the need for leave as is possible to allow for planning of coverage in the work area. Notice of at least 30 days is preferred when the need is foreseeable.

Application for family medical leave requires the completion of a Request Form for Family Medical Leave with the proper authorizations. Copies of this form are available in the Human Resources Office.  Employees must provide sufficient information for the employer to determine if the leave will qualify for FMLA protection.

In addition, certification from a qualified health care provider will be required for approval of a leave to care for an injured or seriously ill family member. Copies of the U.S. Department of Labor's Form for Certification of Physician or Practitioner are available in the Human Resources Office for this purpose. Such certification should be provided prior to the beginning of the leave (or in as timely a manner as possible) and should include: the date on which the illness or condition began; the estimated duration of the condition; a statement that the illness or condition warrants the participation of the employee to provide care; and, in the case of intermittent leave, the dates and duration of treatments to be given.

Additional certification may be requested for any extension of a leave period beyond the dates originally approved.

Continuation of Benefits during Family Medical Leave

Health plan coverage and life insurance coverage continue during family medical leave periods.

Under IRS rules, contributions to the WPI Retirement Plan are not allowed during periods of leave without pay. Deposits to the University's flexible spending accounts also stop during periods of leave without pay; however, claims may continue to be filed against an account for a limited period.

Employees should contact the Human Resources Office for detailed information regarding benefits continuation during periods of leave without pay.

Military Family Leave Entitlements

Eligible employees with a spouse, son, daughter, or parent on active duty or call to active duty status in the National Guard or Reserves in support of a contingency operation may use their 12-week leave entitlement to address certain qualifying exigencies.  Qualifying exigencies may include attending certain military events, arranging for alternative childcare, addressing certain financial and legal arrangements, attending certain counseling sessions and attending post-deployment reintegration briefings.

FMLA also includes a special leave entitlement that permits eligible employees to take up to 26 weeks of leave to care for a covered service member during a single 12-month period.  A covered service member is a current member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, who has a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty on active duty that may render the service member medically unfit to perform his or her duties for which the service member is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy; or is in outpatient status; or is on the temporary disability retired list.

Use of Vacation Leave during Family Medical Leave

Employees may elect to use earned vacation in place of leave without pay within the approved period of family medical leave. Employees on the biweekly payroll may also elect to use their sick day buy back balances in place of unpaid leave.  In cases where an employee is taking FMLA to care for a family member, the employee will be required to use their vacation/sick day buy back time off before taking unpaid leave.

An employee on leave without pay for 22 or more working days during the fiscal year will receive a prorated share of normal vacation for that year. Any period of leave without pay is counted as continuous service in determining length of service at the University for purposes of establishing vacation accrual rates, but not for purposes of vacation accrual itself.

Employees on the biweekly payroll who take leave without pay that exceeds a total of 22 days during the year will have a reduction in their total sick days at the rate of one day for every 22 working days of absence (whether or not the days of absence were consecutive)

Conditions of Return from Family Medical Leave

At the completion of the approved leave period, an employee will be reinstated to his or her former position or a position of equivalent classification and pay within the department. If the position has been eliminated (due to a reduction in the work force or other operational change under circumstances applying equally to other similar positions in the department), efforts will be made to find other suitable employment at the University.

Return from family care leave should be at the same work schedule at which the employee was working when he or she left. However, a supervisor may agree to have a full-time employee return on a part-time schedule if it is mutually convenient; if so, the new schedule must be at least 50% of a normal workweek.

Questions relating to the provisions and eligibility requirements for family care leave may be directed to the Benefits Administrator.

Failure to return to work at the end of the family medical leave (without an approved extension) shall be considered a resignation.

For additional information on FMLA, please consult the following website:  www.wagehour.dol.gov

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Last modified: February 19, 2009 10:00:21