FAMILY & MEDICAL LEAVE
Employee rights and responsibilities under the Family and Medical Leave Act:
Basic Leave Entitlement
FMLA requires covered employers to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to eligible employees for the following reasons:
1. For incapacity due to pregnancy, prenatal medical care or child birth;
2. To care for the employee’s child after birth, or placement for adoption or foster care;
3. To care for the employee’s spouse, son or daughter, or parent, who has a serious health condition; or
4. For a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the employee’s job.
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, or a Veteran who became injured or ill within 5 years of discharge, 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.
Benefits and Protections
During FMLA leave, the employer must maintain the employee’s health coverage under any
“group health plan” on the same terms as if the employee had continued to work. Upon return from FMLA leave, most employees must be restored to their original or equivalent positions with equivalent pay, benefits, and other employment terms.
Use of FMLA leave cannot result in the loss of any employment benefit that accrued prior to the start of an employee’s leave.
Eligibility Requirements
Employees are eligible if they have worked for a covered employer for at least one year, for
1,250 hours over the previous 12 months, and if at least 50 employees are employed by the employer within 75 miles.
Definition of Serious Health Condition
A serious health condition is an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves either an overnight stay in a medical care facility, or continuing treatment by a health care provider for a condition 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 other daily activities.
Subject to certain conditions, the continuing treatment requirement may be met by a period of incapacity of more than 3 consecutive calendar days combined with at least two visits to a health care provider or one visit and a regimen of continuing treatment, or incapacity due to pregnancy, or incapacity due to a chronic condition. Other conditions may meet the definition of continuing treatment.
Use of Leave
An employee does not need to use this leave entitlement in one block. Leave can be taken
intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule when medically necessary. Employees must make reasonable efforts to schedule leave for planned medical treatment so as not to unduly disrupt the employer’s operations. Leave due to qualifying exigencies may also be taken on an intermittent basis.
Substitution of Paid Leave for Unpaid Leave
Employees may choose or employers may require use of accrued paid leave while taking FMLA leave. In order to use paid leave for FMLA leave, employees must comply with the employer’s normal paid leave policies.
Employee Responsibilities
Employees must provide 30 days advance notice of the need to take FMLA leave when the need
is foreseeable. When 30 days notice is not possible, the employee must provide notice as soon as practicable and generally must comply with an employer’s normal call-in procedures.
Employees must provide sufficient information for the employer to determine if the leave may qualify for FMLA protection and the anticipated timing and duration of the leave. Sufficient
information may include that the employee is unable to perform job functions, the family
member is unable to perform daily activities, the need for hospitalization or continuing treatment
by a health care provider, or circumstances supporting the need for military family leave. Employees also must inform the employer if the requested leave is for a reason for which FMLA leave was previously taken or certified. Employees also may be required to provide a
certification and periodic recertification supporting the need for leave.
Employer Responsibilities
Covered employers must inform employees requesting leave whether they are eligible under FMLA. If they are, the notice must specify any additional information required as well as the employees’ rights and responsibilities. If they are not eligible, the employer must provide a reason for the ineligibility.
Covered employers must inform employees if leave will be designated as FMLA-protected and the amount of leave counted against the employee’s leave entitlement. If the employer determines that the leave is not FMLA-protected, the employer must notify the employee.
MASSACHUSETTS MATERNITY LEAVE ACT
Pursuant to Massachusetts state law, HEC grants an eight-week maternity leave, per child, following the ending of pregnancy for female employees who have completed the Introductory Period of employment. Such leave may, at the option of the employee, be paid leave deducted from any sick and/or vacation entitlement; otherwise the leave is unpaid. For those entitled to FMLA, the maternity leave will run concurrently with FMLA to the maximum extent permitted by both laws. Staff should set up an individual counseling session with Human Resources to review all applicable policies.
An employee on maternity leave shall notify the Program Director/Manager of her intention to return to her employment. Employees returning from a maternity leave of eight weeks or less will be returned to her previous, or a similar, position. Employees returning from a maternity
leave of up to twelve weeks under FMLA will be returned to their previous position, or to an equivalent position.
SMALL NECESSITIES LEAVE ACT
An employee who has worked for HEC for a minimum of a year, and has worked 1250 hours, may take a total of 24 hours unpaid leave each year (1) to participate in school or day-care activities that are directly related to the educational advancement of his or her child, (2) accompany his or her child to routine medical or dental appointments or (3) accompany an elderly relative to routine medical or dental appointments or other appointments for the elder’s care.
Covered relations under the “Small Necessities Act”: A son or daughter means a minor child who is the biological or legal child of the employee. An elderly relative is any person over the age of 60 years who is related by blood or marriage to the employee.
The 24-hour leave may be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule. If an employee wishing to take Necessities Leave has accrued benefit time under HEC policy (e.g. vacation, sick, personal time), such time must be used concurrently with any time under SNLA. Additionally, paid benefit time used by an employee for any of the foregoing qualifying reasons will be counted against, (and thereby reduce), the employee’s leave entitlement under SNLA.
If the necessity for the leave is foreseeable, an employee is required to provide HEC with at least seven days’ notice before the date the leave is to begin. If the necessity for the leave is not foreseeable, then the employee must provide such notice as is practicable.
Upon request by HEC, an employee must provide written “certification” from an appropriate person or entity certifying the basis for the requested Necessities Leave. Such certification shall be in the form provided by HEC.
MILITARY AND NATIONAL GUARD LEAVE
Our military leave policy will remain in effect in accordance with state and federal law. Additionally, should an employee be called to active State service, HEC will supplement the difference in pay between the employee’s base pay (no overtime, differential, or stipend will be included) and the pay received by the state. The employee will be required to provide documentation (pay stub or similar) to receive this benefit. We believe that should an employee be called to federal service, the rate of pay will be higher than HEC pay, but should this not be the case, we will review each case individually.
All appropriate benefits will remain in effect if the employee so chooses:
• Health and dental insurance at current contribution level
• Pension contribution (based on base pay employee would receive if working 40 hours).
• Disability and life insurance
• Supplemental insurances purchased by the employee
Vacation and sick accruals will stop during the leave, but hours may remain in the banks until the employee returns to work and may be used upon return. Should the employee choose to cash out vacation hours, the employee may do so.
Tuition reimbursement that is due will be “frozen” and will be payable upon return.
Please see the Family and Medical Leave section for additional information for Military and their
families.
Upon completion of qualifying military service, eligible employees will be reinstated to employment at HEC pursuant to the Uniformed Service Employment And Reemployment Act (USERRA) or other applicable law. Employees must comply with all required notification and return-to-work deadlines and requirements imposed by USERRA or other applicable law. Employees are encouraged to discuss these issues and requirements with Human Resources prior to deployment or other active duty.
SUMMER LEAVE POLICY FOR TEACHERS
Summer Leaves for teachers will be considered based on individual campus circumstances. Critical to the determination of approved leave is the individual campus ability to provide quality educational services and meet IEP needs during teacher absence. Teachers may request the summer off through our Unpaid Leave of Absence Policy, modified as follows:
A written request must be presented to your Principal and then must also be approved by the Program Director, the Director of Human Resources and the Vice President. The written leave policy states that benefits would be discontinued during leave unless you pay both employee and employer premiums, but for the purpose of teachers requesting Summer Leave, HEC will
continue to pay the employer portion of benefits during your leave. You would have to pay the employee share of the premiums for the entire summer prior to leave.
A vacation week is scheduled at the beginning and at the end of summer, but teachers who request Summer Leave would only be eligible to be paid for the week of vacation at the beginning of summer. Your salary will be reinstated beginning with the first day you return to full time teaching duties. Teachers requesting Summer Leave are making a commitment that they will return to their positions in the fall. Should a teacher not return from Summer Leave, they will be considered to have left in poor standing with the Agency.
To apply for leave:
Teachers must have one year full time teaching at HEC. Each program will determine the
number of requests that can be accommodated. If more requests are received than can be accommodated, the following criteria will be used in determining who is granted leave:
• seniority
• current performance
• leave requested and granted in previous years
• ability for program to cover position during leave
Teachers may request time off in the summer of a few days or a week, which will be unpaid. Requests must be in writing and approved by the Principal, Program Director and HR Director by June 30th each year. Approval will be based on ability to cover position during absence, employee performance, and seniority.
UNPAID LEAVE OF ABSENCE
Employees may be granted an unpaid leave of absence at the discretion of HEC for compelling reasons. A request must be presented to the appropriate supervisor and subsequent written approval of the Program Director and the Vice President received.
To continue medical benefits and other paid benefits during an unpaid leave of absence (except leave that is granted under the FMLA), the employee must pay all premiums, that is the employee and the employer share.
Employees on unpaid leave of absence do not accrue vacation or sick time during the leave. An unpaid leave of absence will be granted for a very specific period of time, generally
not to exceed one month (30 days). Applications for leave extensions must be made in writing
and approved prior to the end of the previously granted leave.
HEC will consider an unpaid leave of absence, in addition to any leave to which the employee may otherwise be entitled under the FMLA or other applicable law, as a possible reasonable accommodation for otherwise qualified employees with a disability.
RETURN TO WORK POLICY – FIT FOR DUTY
It is imperative that HEC be assured each employee is able to safely handle the essential job functions outlined in their job description as well as the ability to safely perform a physical intervention with a student.
If an employee is out of work for two or more consecutive days and/or accidentally injured outside of work and/or under doctor’s care for one or more days due to a non-routine illness, injury or disease he/she may be required to submit to a fitness for duty physical examination before being allowed to return to work. This examination will assure HEC and the employee he/she is able to perform the essential job functions safely. An independent occupational medical provider will perform the fitness for duty evaluation and will be paid for by HEC. It is the assessment of the occupational medical provider that will be the determining factor of the employee’s ability to perform the essential job functions safely.
Failure to submit to a mandated physical examination will result in HEC assuming you have voluntarily resigned your position.