HR Notes for Support Staff, Supervisors, and Managers

 

MILITARY FAMILY LEAVE AND QUALIFYING EXIGENCY LEAVE

 

Full-time and part-time employees of Valencia Community College who have worked for the college for 12 months and have worked 1,250 hours within the year preceding commencement of the leave, are entitled to Military Family and Qualifying Exigency Leave within a twelve-month period.

 

The Family and Medical Leave Act includes a special leave entitlement that permits eligible employees to take up to 26 weeks of unpaid, job protected leave to care for a covered servicemember during a single 12-month period.  A covered servicemember 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 servicemember medically unfit to perform his or her duties for which the servicemember is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy; or is in outpatient status; or is on the temporary disability retired list. 

 

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 up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job protected leave 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.

 

The employee is required to use all paid leave (if eligible), i.e., sick leave, personal leave, and vacation leave, prior to using unpaid leave.  This means that the employee will receive their paid leave and the leave will also be considered protected Family and Medical Leave and counted against their Family and Medical Leave entitlement.  The employee will be reinstated to the same or equivalent job with the same pay, benefits, and terms and conditions of employment upon their return from leave.

 

How to Apply...

 

 

·                     Application for Military Family Leave - Employees requesting Military Family Leave are to complete an Application for Family and Medical Leave form and, along with any written attachments, submit it to their supervisor for approval.  The application shall include the starting date of the leave, the reason for the leave, and the anticipated termination of the leave.

 

·                     Notice of Intent to Return To Work - Employees requesting Military Family Leave or Qualifying Exigency Leave are required to provide written verification of their intent to return to work.  This is to be submitted at the beginning of the leave period and every 30 days thereafter while on leave.

 

·                     Certification for Serious Injury or Illness of Covered Servicemember  - In the event that Family and Medical Leave is requested due to the serious injury or illness of a covered servicemember, a Certification for Serious Injury or Illness form must be submitted.  Failure to provide medical certification within 15 days of the college's request may result in denial of the leave, until medical certification is provided. 

 

·                     Certification of Qualifying Exigency for Military Family Leave - In the event that Family and Medical Leave is requested due to a qualifying exigency, a Certification of Qualifying Exigency for Military Family Leave form must be submitted.  Failure to provide the certification within 15 days of the college's request may result in denial of the leave, until the certification is provided.

 

·                     Certificate of Absence Form - Full-time employees applying for Military Family Leave or Qualifying Exigency Leave must complete a Certificate of Absence form estimating the number of hours to be deducted from the sick and vacation leave banks.  If the exact start date of the leave is unknown, the employee may complete the form to the best of their ability and ask their supervisor to complete the date of the first day of absence.  The Payroll Department can help with leave coordination.

 

 

Send all forms and paperwork to the Human Resources Department.  Applications for Military Family Leave or Qualifying Exigency Leave should be made at least 30 days in advance where the leave is foreseeable.  Where the leave is not foreseeable, the request should be made as soon as practicable.

 

Human Resources will review the leave request, approve the leave, and if appropriate, include the request on the board agenda for final approval.

 

 

At the beginning of the leave and every four weeks thereafter, employees are required to provide written verification of their intent to return to work.  If the need for the leave is less than originally set forth in the employee's request and certification form, employees are expected to return to work as soon as the need for leave concludes.  The employee must provide two days notice of his/her intent to return to work if the return is prior to the date originally anticipated. 

 

Insurance Coverage During Leave...

 

·                     Health Insurance - The college will continue to pay premiums for the employee's health insurance while the employee is on leave.  The employee must pay the cost of dependent health insurance.

 

·                     Life Insurance - The college will continue to pay premiums for the employee's basic life insurance while the employee is on leave.  Premiums for supplemental life insurance must be paid by the employee.

 

·                     Other Insurance - The employee must pay the cost of any other insurance maintained by the employee while on leave.

 

·                     Flexible Benefits Plan - The employee may continue to make deposits into his Health Care Reimbursement account.  None of these payments will be made with pre-tax dollars because they are a result of direct payment by the employee and not redirected salary.

 

When Leave Ends...

 

·         Return to work - Employees are expected to report to work on the first regular business day following the end of the leave period.  Failure to do so shall be deemed an abandonment of the employee's job.  If the need for such leave is less than originally set forth in the employee's request and medical certification, employees are expected to return to work as soon as the need for leave concludes.

For more information, please contact Mariann Swenson at extension 8028. 

 

                                                               HR Notes #91

                        March 2009