The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires the university to give eligible employees unpaid job-protected leave for the birth, adoption, or foster care of a child, or the serious health condition of the employee or an immediate family member (child, spouse, or parent), a qualifying exigency arising from a call to active duty of a spouse, son, daughter or parent, being on active duty, having been notified of an impending call or order to active duty in the Armed Forces. Eligible employees may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during any leave year. FMLA may be used when an employee is the care giver for an injury or illness of a service member that is a spouse, son, daughter, parent or being the nearest blood relative of the active service member (up to 26 weeks).

To be eligible, the employee must have been employed for at least 12 months and have provided at least 1,250 hours of service during the 12-month period prior to the leave request. The 12-week period is calculated starting from the date the employee begins FMLA leave. Eligible employees have the option of using paid leave, as appropriate under each particular leave policy, for absences covered under FMLA. The agency may designate such leave as family and medical leave. If you take leave under FMLA, you will normally return to your prior job, or in unusual cases, a job with equivalent status and pay. Health benefits must continue during the leave at the same level and conditions as if you had continued to work.

An employees must give a 30-day advance notice to his/her supervisor of the need to take FMLA leave when it is foreseeable for the birth or placement of a child for adoption or foster care, or for planned medical treatment. When it is not possible to provide advance notice, the employee must notify his/her supervisor as soon as practical.

Intermittent leave that is medically necessary may be taken without supervisor approval for each absence. Employees are encouraged to provide proper notice to their supervisor even though the supervisor's permission to use leave is not required. Supervisors must approve requests for intermittent leave if taking leave for the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.

Certification from the employee's or his/her family's health care provider must be provided to Human Resources to support family medical leave.

For complete information on the Family and Medical Leave Act, please visit the Family Medical Leave Act website, contact the Benefits Team, or refer to Policy 1308-Family and Medical Leave.