LEAVES OF ABSENCE
There are certain conditions where employees may need to take leave. Employees may apply for a leave of absence if they are full-time and meet the criteria. Rural Healthcare Developers and Affiliates provide for the following:
Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Military leave
PROCESS TO REQUEST LEAVE
1. Employees are required to notify their immediate manager of the need for leave to ensure appropriate staffing arrangements can be made. Such notification must be made as far in advance as possible and practicable. Employees must notify their managers in all situations. Such notification to managers does not relieve employees from complying with the written re-quest for an LOA, which is provided to Human Resources. Failure to comply with this notification requirement may result in disciplinary action under attendance standards as set forth in this handbook.
2. Any request for an LOA must be submitted in writing to Human Resources for approval/certification prior to the start of the leave, except in emergency situations or under unforeseen circumstances.
3. PTO does not accrue while on leave but resumes after an employee returns from leave. Employees should contact Human Resources for information on maintaining benefits while on leave. Insurance premiums are the responsibility of the employee.
4. Misrepresentation of facts regarding the need for leave or the extension of leave, or activities inconsistent with the stated purpose
5. or need for leave will be considered a violation of policy and may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.
While on leave, employees may not hold other gainful employment except with prior approval from their supervisor and the appropriate Human Resources representative.
6. If available and where applicable, PTO and Sick Leave must be used until exhausted while on LOA, with the exception of military leave.
7. Employees are responsible for initiating and ensuring proper completion of the appropriate request forms regarding their need for leave. Addition-ally, employees are expected to return to work from an approved LOA on the predetermined date as scheduled. Employees may not be absent from work without proper leave of absence documentation and the approval of man-agement.
8. Failure to return to work at the agreed upon time and/or failure or refusal to report for work in the absence of appropriate LOA documentation and management approval, will result in disciplinary action up to and in-cluding termination of employment.
FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE ACT
The Family Medical Leave Act provides for up to 12 weeks unpaid leave for medical treatment or for the care of an immediate family member with the assurance that the employee retains employment. In order to use Sick and/or PTO, employees eligible for FMLA must follow the FMLA process.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE
• Full-time employees
• Who have worked for the company at least 12 months (not necessarily consecutively)
• Who have worked 1,250 hours for the company within the last 12 months preceding the leave request
• And who are employed at a work site that has 50 or more employees within a 75-miles radius.REASONS TO TAKE FMLA LEAVE
• For employee’s own serious health condition that renders the employee unable to perform an essential function of his or her • position.
• For incapacity due to the employee’s pregnancy, prenatal medical or child birth
• To care for the employee’s son or daughter during the first 12 months following birth
• To care for a child during the first 12 months following placement with the employee for adoption or foster care
• To care for a spouse, son, daughter, or parent (“covered relation”) with a serious health condition.USE OF LEAVE
• Leave entitlement does not have to be taken in one block.
• In some cases, leave can be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule when medically necessary.
• Leave may not be taken on an intermittent basis when used to care for the employee’s own child during the first year following birth, or to care for a child placed with the employee for foster care or adoption.
• Employees on intermittent leave must make reasonable efforts to schedule leave for planned medical treatment so as not to unduly disrupt the employer’s operations.PAY BENEFITS AND PROTECTION DURING FMLA LEAVE
• Leave is unpaid.
• Employee granted FMLA status will use accrued Sick and PTO leave to substitute for paid leave for own serious health condition;
• PTO only may be used to care for another person.
• Depending on circumstances, employees may be eligible for short-term disability or Workers Comp under the insurance plans if leave is for employee’s own serious health condition.
• Employee leave requests because of birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child will use accrued PTO.
• Company will maintain employee’s health benefits and deduct from checks. If employee has no check, the cost of employee’s share of health insurance falls on the employee and is due on the first of each month.
• Employees do not accrue additional sick or PTO while out on FMLA. Accruals will be restored when the employee returns to work.REPORTING WHILE ON LEAVE
If an employee takes leave because of the employee’s own serious health condition or to care for a covered relation, the employee must contact the company on the first and third Thursday of each month regarding the status of the condition and his or her intention to return to work. Documentation from the employee’s treating physician may be requested. In addition, the employee must give notice as soon as practicable (within 2 business days, if feasible) if the dates of the leave change, are extended, or were unknown initially.RETURN TO THE JOB AT THE END OF FMLA
• Returning employees must have a medical release to return to work.
• Eligible employees must be restored to their original or equivalent positions with equivalent pay, benefits, and other employment terms.
• Highly compensated employees (i.e., highest-paid 10 percent of employees at a worksite or within a 75-mile radius of that worksite) may not be returned to their former or equivalent position following a leave if restoration of employment will cause substantial economic injury to the company.EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITIES WHEN REQUESTING FMLA LEAVE
• If FMLA leave is foreseeable, the employee must give the company at least 30 days’ prior notice of the need to take leave. When 30 days’ notice is not possible, the employee must give notice as soon as practicable (within 2 business days of learning of the need for leave except in extraordinary circumstances).
• Requests for FMLA leave should be submitted to Human Resources using the Request for Family/Medical Leave form available from Human Resources.
• Employee must provide sufficient information for the company to determine if the leave might qualify as FMLA leave, and also provide information on the anticipated date when the leave would start as well as the duration of the leave.
• Calling in “sick” is not sufficient. Sufficient information may include the following:
• That the employee is unable to perform job functions
• That a family member is unable to perform daily activities
• That the employee or family member needs hospitalization or continuing treatment by a healthcare provider
If the requested leave is for a reason for which FMLA leave was previously taken or certified.
• Employees also will be required to provide a certification and periodic recertification supporting the need for leave.MEDICAL CERTIFICATION
If leave is because of the employee’s own or a covered relation’s serious health condition, the employee and the relevant healthcare provider must supply appropriate medical certification. Employees may obtain Medical Certification forms from the Human Resources Department.
• When the employee requests leave, the company will notify the employee of the requirement for medical certification and when it is due (no more than 15 days after you request leave).
• If the employee provides at least 30 days’ notice of medical leave, he or she should also provide the medical certification before leave begins.DENIAL OR CLARIFICATION FOR USE OF LEAVE
Failure to provide requested medical certification in a timely manner may result in denial of leave until it is provided. The company, at its expense, may require an examination by a second healthcare provider designated by the company, if it reasonably doubts the medical certification initially provided. If the second healthcare provider’s opinion conflicts with the original medical certification, the company, at its expense, may require a third, mutually agreeable, healthcare provider to conduct an examination and provide a final and binding opinion.
• The company may require subsequent medical recertification. Failure to provide requested certification within 15 days, except in extraordinary circumstances, may result in the delay of further leave until it is provided.
• Employees, who are on leave for their own medical treatment, are required to provide a fitness-for-duty certification upon return to work, or during intermittent leave.EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITY
• When an employee requests leave, the company will inform the employee whether he or she is eligible under FMLA.
• Employee will be given a written notice that includes details on any additional information he or she will be required to provide.
• If the employee is not eligible under FMLA, the company will provide the employee with a written notice indicating the reason for ineligibility.
• If leave will be designated as FMLA-protected, the company will inform the employee in writing and provide information on the amount of leave that will be counted against the employee’s 12- week entitlement.INTERMITTENT AND REDUCED SCHEDULE LEAVE
• Leave because of a serious health condition or either type of family military leave may be taken intermittently (in separate blocks of time due to a single health condition);
• Or on a reduced-schedule leave (reducing the usual number of hours worked per work week or workday) if medically necessary
• The Organization may temporarily transfer the employee to an available alternative position that better accommodates the recurring leave and that has equivalent pay and benefits.
• The Organization will reduce the employee’s salary based on the amount of time actually worked.MILITARY LEAVE AS PART OF FMLA
Two types of Military Family Leave are available:
• Qualifying Exigency Leave
• Leave to care for a covered service memberQUALIFYING EXIGENCY LEAVE - Employees meeting the eligibility requirements described above may be entitled to use up to 12 weeks of their Basic FMLA Leave entitlement to address certain qualifying exigencies. Leave may be used if the employee’s spouse, son, or daughter, is on active duty or called to active duty status in the National Guard or Reserves in support of a contingency operation.
Qualifying exigencies may include:
• Short-notice deployment (up to 7 days of leave);
• Attending certain military events;
• Arranging for alternative childcare;
• Addressing certain financial and legal arrangements;
• Periods of rest and recuperation for the service member (up to 5 days of leave);
• Attending certain counseling sessions;
• Attending post-deployment activities (available for up to 90 days after the termination of the covered service member’s active duty status);
• Other activities arising out of the service member’s active duty or call to active duty and agreed upon by the company and the employee.LEAVE TO CARE FOR A COVERED SERVICE MEMBER
Employees who meet eligibility requirements for FMLA leave may take up to 26 weeks of leave to care for a covered service member (current member of the Armed services, including the National Guard or Reserves) during a 5-year period. Conditions are as follows:
• Employee’s family service member has been rendered medically unfit to perform his or her duties due to a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty while 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
• Service member is in outpatient status;
• Service member is on the temporary disability retired list.MARRIED FAMILY MEMBERS - When both husband and wife work for the same employer, the aggregate amount of leave that can be taken by the husband and wife to care for a covered service member is 26 weeks in a 5-year period.
MILITARY LEAVE UNDER THE UNIFORMED SERVICES EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT ACT (USERRA)
RHD and its Affiliates recognize and applaud employees who may maintain membership in a branch of the Armed Forces at the same time as their employment. The work schedules of employees who perform weekend drills,summer encampment, or similar types of training duty, as well as any period absent from a position of employment for an examination to determine the fitness of the person to perform duties in the uniformed service will be accommodated to prevent conflicts. The organization also allows for a period for which a person is absent from employment to perform funeral honors duty as authorized by law. Employees cannot be denied any initial employment, reemployment, retention in employment, promotion, or any benefit of employment to an individual on the basis of his or her membership, application for membership, performance of service, application for service, or obligation for service in the uniformed services.NOTICE OF LEAVE
• Employee must provide company with advance notice of service, unless military necessity or other conditions make it impossible for the employee to provide notice.
• The employee, or an appropriate officer of the uniformed service in which his or her service is to be performed, must notify HR that the employee is to perform military service.
• Notice to the employer may be either verbal or written
• Employee can be asked, but not required, to furnish the Company with the approximate beginning and concluding dates of his or her service.LIMIT ON LENGTH OF DUTY
Under USERRA, an employee may take a maximum of 5 years’ leave for military service. Five years is the maximum cumulative length of absence for all absences with that employer, not with previous employers. There are limited exceptions to the 5-year limit, which may increase the maximum leave time allowed.WHEN LEAVE BEGINS
Employees will be provided enough time after leaving employment to travel safely to the uniformed service site and arrive fit to perform the service.
BENEFITS DURING LEAVE
• During a period of service, the employee is on furlough or leave of absence from RHD and its Affiliates.
• Employee on military leave and their dependents may have the option to continue in the group health plan for up to 24 months of service at their own expense.
• Upon reemployment, an employee and his or her family may reenter the company health plan.VACATION AND SICK LEAVE
• Although not required, an employee is permitted, upon request, to use any accrued PTO during the period of service in order to continue his or her civilian pay.
• The employee is not entitled to use sick leave that accrued with the employer during a period of service in the uniformed services.REEMPLOYMENT OF SERVICE PERSONNEL
The employee is entitled to reemployment in the job position that he or she would have attained with reasonable certainty if not for the absence due to uniformed service. This is known as the “escalator position.” The escalator principle requires that the employee be reemployed in a position that reflects with reasonable certainty the pay, benefits, seniority, and other job perquisites that he or she would have attained if not for the period of service.TIMING FOR RETURNING OR REAPPLYING
• If the employee’s period of service is less than 31 days or for a period of any length for the purpose of a fitness examination, the employee must report to the employer not later than the beginning of the first full regularly scheduled work period on the first full calendar day following the completion of the period of service, and following the expiration of 8 hours after a period allowing for safe transportation from the place of that service to the employee’s residence.
• If the employee’s period of service in the uniformed services is for more than 30 days but less than 181 days, he or she must submit an application for reemployment (written or verbal) with the employer not later than 14 days after completing service. If it is impossible or unreasonable for the employee to apply within 14 days through no fault of his or her own, the employee must submit the application not later than the next full calendar day after it becomes possible to do so.
• If the employee’s period of service in the uniformed services is for more than 180 days, he or she must submit an application for reemployment (written or verbal) not later than 90 days after completing service.
• These time limits may be extended for up to 2 years if an individual is hospitalized or convalescing from an injury caused by active duty. This period for recuperation and recovery extends the time period for reporting to or submitting an application for reemployment to the employer and is not applicable following reemployment.REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION ON APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT
Employee may be required to submit documentation to the employer in connection with an application for reemployment if the period of service exceeded 30 days. If the employee submits an application for reemployment after a period of service of more than 30 days, the employer may require the employee to provide documentation to establish that:
• The reemployment application is timely;
• The employee has not exceeded the 5-year limit on duration of service; and
• The employee’s separation or dismissal from service was not dishonorable, based on bad conduct, or “other than honorable.”
• Termination
Individuals who serve more than 180 days cannot be discharged without cause for 12 months after reemployment.
Those who serve for 31 to 180 days cannot be discharged without cause for 6 months after reemployment.
Individuals who serve for 30 days or less have no protected period.DISABILITY
USERRA provides that an individual with service-connected disabilities who is not qualified for employment in the position he or she would have attained if continuously employed (even after reasonable accommodation as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)) must be reemployed promptly in any other position of similar seniority, status, and pay for which he or she is qualified or would become qualified with reasonable efforts by the employer or, otherwise, in a position that is the nearest approximation to the equivalent position, consistent with the circumstances of the employee’s case in terms of seniority, status, and pay. As with the ADA, the employer is not required to reemploy the disabled individual if doing so would be of such difficulty or expense as to constitute an undue hardship.NOTICE OF INTENT TO RETURN
The employee is not required to decide in advance of leaving the civilian employment position whether he or she will seek reemployment after completing uniformed service.
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