The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 is intended to balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of employees and their family members, to promote the stability and economic security of the family, and to promote national interests in preserving family integrity.
In compliance with the FMLA, McNeese State University provides qualified employees with a total of 12 weeks of job-protected paid and/or unpaid leave during a 12-month period for an FMLA-qualifying event.
An eligible employee is an employee who:
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) hours-worked principles shall be applied in determining whether an employee has worked 1,250 hours.
The 12 months an employee must have been employed need not be consecutive months. If an employee is maintained on the payroll for any part of the week, the week counts as a week of employment (52 weeks is deemed equal to 12 months).
An eligible employee shall be entitled to a total of 12 work weeks or 480 hours of unpaid leave during a 12-month period for one or more of the following circumstances:
A covered employer also must grant an eligible employee who is a spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next-of-kin of a current member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, with a serious injury or illness up to a total of 26 work weeks of unpaid leave during a single 12-month period to care for the service member.
Leave to care for a newborn child or for a newly placed child must conclude within 12 months after the birth or placement (see CFR Section 825.201).
Spouses employed by the same employer may be limited to a combined total of 12 work weeks of family leave for the following reasons:
Leave qualifying as FMLA leave applied to the employee’s 12-month period is measured forward from the date any employee’s initial FMLA leave begins. The next 12-month entitlement period commences the first time FMLA leave is taken after expiration of any previous 12-month entitlement period.
Example:
09/04/2021: First date leave begins
(12-week or 480-hour entitlement)
09/03/2022: 12-month period ends
FMLA leave may be taken on a continuous basis, intermittently (without a fixed schedule), or on a reduced leave schedule (fixed schedule with reduced hours). Leave on an intermittent or reduced leave schedule shall only be granted when medically necessary. This leave is subtracted from the employee’s 12-work week entitlement on an hour-for-hour basis (equated to 480 leave hours in a 12-month period).
During any FMLA leave, the employee may maintain health coverage in the same manner as when employed. The employee is responsible for paying the employee portion of insurance premiums while on leave without pay.
If a new health plan or benefits or changes in health plans or benefits are provided while an employee is on FMLA leave, the employee is entitled to the new changed plan or benefits to the same extent as if the employee were not on leave. Notice of any opportunity to change plans or benefits must also be given to an employee on FMLA leave.
An employee may choose not to retain health coverage during FMLA leave. However, when an employee returns from leave, the employee is entitled to be reinstated on the same terms as prior to taking leave, without any qualifying period, physical examination, exclusion of pre-existing conditions, etc.
Except as required by COBRA, McNeese State University’s obligation to maintain health benefits under FMLA ceases if and when an employee fails to return from leave, and thereby terminates employment, or the employee exhausts their FMLA leave entitlement.
While McNeese State University must continue to maintain health benefits, the obligation to maintain health insurance coverage ceases if an employee’s premium payment is more than 30 days late. If coverage lapses because an employee has not made required premium payments, McNeese State University must still restore the employee’s coverage/benefits upon the employee’s return from FMLA leave equivalent to those the employee would have had if leave had not been taken. In such a case, an employee shall not be required to meet any qualification requirements, including any new pre-existing condition waiting period, to wait for open enrollment, or to pass a medical examination to obtain reinstatement of coverage.
An employee must provide the supervisor at least 30 days’ advance notice before FMLA leave is to begin if the need for the leave is foreseeable based on an expected birth, placement for adoption or foster care, or planned medical treatment for a serious health condition of the employee or a family member.
If 30 days’ notice is not practical, notice must be given as soon as practical, meaning at least verbal notification to the employer within one or two business days of when the need for leave becomes known to the employee.
An employee shall provide at least verbal notice sufficient to make the supervisor aware that the employee needs FMLA-qualifying leave, and the anticipated timing and duration of the leave. The employee must still obtain and complete an FMLA packet as described below.
An employee may obtain an FMLA packet from the Office of Human Resources and Student Employment or download the packet from the University website at www.mcneese.edu/hr. This packet contains a request for FMLA leave form, and a Certification of Healthcare Provider Form for self or a family member. The employee must complete the request for FMLA leave form and submit it to the supervisor. The supervisor must process the request for FMLA leave form and submit it to the director of human resources and student employment immediately upon receipt. The employee must bring the Certification of Healthcare Provider Form to the physician(s) and return it to the director of human resources and student employment within 15 calendar days. The director of human resources and student employment will respond to the employee as required by law within five business days. The supervisor will be notified of the outcome of the leave request.
If an employee fails to provide in a timely manner (15 calendar days) a requested medical certification to substantiate the need for FMLA leave due to a serious health condition, the director of human resources and student employment may deny FMLA leave until an employee submits the certification.
In accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the director of human resources and student employment may contact the healthcare professional, but the direct supervisor may never contact the healthcare professional. If the Certification of Healthcare Provider Form is incomplete or insufficient, the employee will be contacted and given seven calendar days to resolve the issue with the certification.
Re-certification from the healthcare provider will be required every 30 days unless the absence is for a short duration. Ongoing, continuing FMLA absences will require re-certification every six months.
The employee will be required to present proper return-to-work medical certification to the Office of Human Resources and Student Employment prior to being restored to duty. If a Fitness for Duty Certification based on essential functions of the position will be required to return to work, the employee will be informed at the time the FMLA leave is approved.
The University policy on returning to work will apply for “light” or “modified” duty work. “Light” or “modified” duty does not count against an FLMA entitlement.
Continuing Treatment by a Healthcare Provider: A period of incapacity lasting more than three consecutive, full calendar days and any subsequent treatment or period of incapacity relating to the same condition that also includes:
Eligible Employee: An employee who has been employed for a total of at least 12 months by the state of Louisiana on the date the leave is to commence, and who, on the date on which any FMLA leave is to commence, has worked at least 1,250 hours within state service during the previous 12-month period.
Healthcare Provider: Includes any of the following:
Incapable of Self-Care: The individual requires active assistance or supervision to provide daily self-care in several of the “activities of daily living” (i.e., caring appropriately for ones’ grooming and hygiene, bathing, dressing, eating, cooking, cleaning, shopping, taking public transportation, paying bills, etc.).
Intermittent Leave: Leave taken in separate periods of time due to a single illness or injury, rather than for one continuous period of time, and may include leave of periods from a half-hour or more to several weeks (i.e., leave taken on an occasional basis for medical appointments, or leave taken several days at a time spread over a period of six months, such as for chemotherapy).
Loco Parentis: The individual(s) who has day-to-day responsibilities to care for and financially support a child, or in the case of an employee, who had such responsibility for the employee, when the employee was a child. A biological or legal relationship is not necessary; however, documentation of the responsibility for care and support shall be required (i.e., affidavit signed by notary and/or two witnesses, income tax returns, etc.).
Parent: The biological parent or an individual who stands or stood in loco parentis when the employee was a child. This term does not include parents-in-law.
Reduced Leave Schedule: Leave schedule that reduces the usual number of hours per work week or hours per workday.
Serious Health Condition: An illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves:
Son or Daughter: A biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis, who is under 18 years of age or who is older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability.
Spouse: A husband or wife as defined or recognized under state law for purposes of marriage.
This policy is distributed via the University Policies webpage.