PURPOSE

To provide employees the opportunity to request Family Medical Leave.

REFERENCES

• The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) (29 C.F.R. § 825)
  • 28 U.S.C § 8 Judiciary and Judicial Procedure
  • 29 U.S.C. § 2611, 2612, 2613, 2614 Labor
• Wages and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
• Collective Bargaining Agreements
• RCW 18.57 Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery
• RCW 18.71 Physicians
• RCW 18.79 Nursing Care
• RCW 49.12 Industrial Welfare
• RCW 49.76 Domestic Violence Leave
• RCW 49.77 Military Family Leave Act
• WAC 182-12 Eligible and Noneligible Employees

POLICY

Eligible employees may be granted up to 12 weeks of leave in a rolling 12-month period in accordance with the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA).

PROCEDURES

An eligible employee must meet all of the following conditions:

1. The employee must have worked for Skagit Valley College for at least 12 months preceding the leave; and
2. The employee must have worked at least 1,250 hours in the twelve months preceding the commencement of the leave. This 1,250 hour requirement does not count paid time off such as time used as annual leave, sick leave, personal holiday, personal leave day, compensatory time off, or shared leave. Employees receive credit for any time spent in the military reserves. Persons reemployed following military service gets credit for hours they would have worked if they hadn’t been in the service.

Leave may be granted for:

1. The birth and care of a newborn child;
2. The placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care and to care for the child;
3. To care for a family member (spouse, child, parent or domestic partner as defined by WAC 182-12-260) with a serious health condition;
4. For the employee’s own serious health condition which makes them unable to perform the essential functions of their job;
5. Due to a qualifying exigency arising from the fact that the family member of the employee is on covered active duty or has been notified of pending call to covered active duty in the Armed forces;
6. In the case of Military Caregiver Leave Entitlement, an eligible employee who is a child, parent of a child of any age, or next of kin of a covered service member is entitled to up to 26 weeks of leave in 12-month period to care for the service member who is undergoing treatment, recuperation or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list for serious injury or illness; or,
7. Entitlement to FMLA leave for the care of a newborn child or newly adopted or foster child ends twelve (12) months from the date of the birth or the placement of the foster or adopted child.

Serious health condition means:

1. An illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves:
   • Any period of incapacity or treatment connected with inpatient care (i.e., an overnight stay) in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical-care facility, and any period of incapacity, or
   • Continuing treatment by a health care provider which includes any period of incapacity of more than three consecutive calendar days, and any subsequent treatment or period of incapacity relating to the same condition, that also involves treatment two or more times by or under the supervision of a health care provider; or
   • Treatment by a health care provider on at least one occasion with a continuing regimen of treatment of the health care provider.
2. Incapacity due to pregnancy or prenatal care;
3. Any period of incapacity or treatment due to a chronic serious health condition, which requires periodic visits for treatment by a health care provided, continues over an extended period of time, and may involve occasional episodes of incapacity;
4. A permanent or long-term condition for which treatment may not be effective. The employee or family member must be under the continuing supervision of a health care provider, rather than active treatment;
5. Any periods of absences to receive multiple treatments for restorative surgery after an accident or other injury, or for a condition which would likely result in a period of incapacity of more than three consecutive calendar days if not treated.

Health care provider means:

A person licensed as a physician as defined in 18.71 RCW or osteopathic physician and surgeon under chapter 18.57 RCW or a person licensed as an advanced registered nurse practitioner under RCW 18.79.

I. Leave Coverage and 12-Month Period

1. An eligible employee can take up to 12 work weeks of leave during a 12-month period. The FMLA leave entitlement period is a rolling twelve (12) month period measured forward from the date the employee begins FMLA leave. Each time the employee takes FMLA leave during the twelve (12) month period, the leave will be subtracted from the twelve (12) weeks of available leave. The employee’s next FMLA leave year would begin the first time FMLA leave is taken after completion of the previous 12-month period.
2. If spouses/domestic partners both work for SVC, they may only take a combined total of 12 weeks of FMLA leave in the 12-month period for the purpose of taking leave for the birth of a child or placement of a child or to care for the employee’s parent with a serious health condition.
3. For employees who normally work less than a full-time schedule, the amount of leave will be determined on a pro rata basis and will be determined based on the employee’s status at the time of the request for leave.

II. Employee Request for Leave and Employer Designation

It is the employee’s responsibility to notify their supervisor of the need for leave and to provide reasons for the leave to allow the employer to determine if the leave qualifies for FMLA leave. The employee should provide the anticipated timing and duration of the leave. The employee must notify their supervisor at least 30 days in advance of the need for leave if the need for leave is foreseeable. If the need for leave is not foreseeable, notice must be given as soon as possible.

The employee’s supervisor may inquire further regarding the need for leave if the employee does not initially provide enough information to determine if the leave request qualifies for FMLA designation.

The employee’s supervisor or Human Resources (HR) will provide the employee with an FMLA request form to be completed by the employee and a medical certificate to be completed by the employee’s or family member’s health care provider. The employee should return these forms to HR within 15 calendar days after the employee receives them.

The college will normally determine eligibility and notify the employee that the leave will be designated as FMLA within two business days, absent extenuating circumstances, of the date the college receives knowledge that the leave is being taken for a FMLA qualifying reason. The designation can be made either orally or in writing. If given orally, it will be followed up in writing by the next payday that is at least one week away from the oral notification.

III. Substitution of Paid Leave

Skagit Valley College will require an employee to exhaust all paid leave before using leave without pay for an FMLA covered event. The use of any leave, paid or unpaid (excluding leave for a work related injury or illness covered by workman’s compensation or assault benefits or compensatory time earned under the Fair Labor Standards Act) for an FMLA qualifying event will run concurrently with, and not in addition to, the use of FMLA for that event. The types of leave to be substituted for otherwise unpaid FMLA leave include annual leave, sick leave, shared leave, and/or personal holidays.

Such use of sick leave is allowed only for those purposes that sick leave use is normally allowed for pursuant to state laws or Skagit Valley College policy, as applicable. Compensatory time earned pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act will not be counted toward the FMLA entitlement, although an employee is allowed to use compensatory time for a FMLA qualifying event.

IV. Medical Certification

Medical certification will be required for any request for use of Family Medical Leave. The employee will be asked to respond to the request for a complete medical certification within fifteen (15) calendar days of the request or to provide a reasonable explanation of the delay. Failure to provide the requested certification may result in the denial of FMLA. Certification should be provided by using the Medical Certification Form attached. All applicable information should be included.

If the college has questions regarding the initial medical certification they may, with a release from the employee, ask their health care professional to contact the employee’s health care professional to authenticate or clarify the original certificate.

If the college has reason to question the medical certification, they may elect to seek a second opinion from a health care provider of their choosing at SVC expense. If the second opinion conflicts with the first opinion, a third opinion may be obtained at SVC expense from a health care provider mutually chosen by the employee and SVC. The third opinion will be controlling. The employee will be considered provisionally entitled to leave pending the second and/or third opinion.

The college may ask for re-certification under the provisions of the FMLA. Re- certifications are provided at the employee’s expense.

V. Continuation of Benefits

1. During approved FMLA leave, the college will continue an eligible employee’s health and other benefits at the same level and under the same conditions as if the employee had continued to work. The eligible employee will be required to pay for their portion of their health care and other benefit premiums during their FMLA absence.
2. During paid leave, the college will continue to make payroll deductions for the employee’s share of the health care and other premiums. During unpaid leave the employee must continue to make these payments. Payment should be made to the Payroll department. If the employee on unpaid leave does not pay their share of the premiums, the college may elect to make these payments on behalf of the employee, thus continuing their benefits, and collect the amounts due from the employee upon his or her return to work. The employee using unpaid FMLA leave will be required to indicate on the FMLA request form how they intend to pay their share of premiums during their absence.
3. If an eligible employee chooses not to return to work at the conclusion of their unpaid FMLA leave for reasons other than a continued serious health condition of the employee or the employee’s family member, or a circumstance beyond the employee’s control, the college will require the employee to reimburse the college the amount of health care benefit premiums paid by the college for the employee during the FMLA leave period.

VI. Returning to Work

1. Upon returning to work after the employee’s own FMLA qualifying illness, the employee will be required to provide a fitness for duty certificate from a health care provider. The fitness for duty certificate should be job related and consistent with business necessity. A fitness for duty certificate will not be required for intermittent leave usage.
2. Following absence granted for an approved FMLA event, an employee shall be returned to the same or an equivalent position as the one held immediately prior to the absence.
3. An employee returning from FMLA leave has no greater entitlement to reinstatement or to other benefits and conditions of employment than if the employee had been continuously employed during the leave period.