Family & Medical Leave Act

It is the policy of Northampton Community College to comply with all provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 ("FMLA") and its associated regulations. This Policy may also be located in the College's Policy Manual at section 2.48. The version of this Policy on the College's intranet shall contain the most updated policy provisions.

1. General Provisions

   In accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), eligible employees will be granted family medical leave during any 12 month period in accordance with eligibility and type of leave guidelines outlined below. The 12 month period is calculated as a rolling 12 month period.
   

2. Eligibility

   In order to qualify to take family and medical leave under this policy, the employee must meet the following conditions:

   1. The employee must have worked for the College at least 12 months or 52 weeks, and
   2. The employee must have completed at least 1250 hours of service during the twelve month period immediately before the date when the leave would begin.
3. Type of Leave Covered

   In order to qualify as FMLA under this policy, the employee must be taking the leave for one of the reasons listed below:
   
   An eligible employee may take up to 12 work weeks of leave for one or more of the following reasons:

   1. The birth of a child and in order to bond with or care for that child (leave must be concluded within 12 months after the birth);
   2. The placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care (leave must be concluded within 12 months after placement);
   3. To care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition;
   4. The serious health condition of the employee which makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his/her job;
   5. For any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the spouse, son, daughter, or parent of the employee is on active military duty, or who has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty, in the Armed Forces in support of a contingency operation. A qualifying exigency is defined as:
      1. Short notice deployment
      2. Military events & related activities
      3. Childcare and related activities
      4. Care of the military member's parent
      5. Financial/legal arrangements
      6. Counseling
      7. Rest and recuperation
      8. Post-deployment activities
      9. Any other event that the College and the Employee agree is a qualifying exigency
         
         

      An eligible employee may take up to 26 work weeks of leave for the following reason:

   6. To care for a spouse, child, parent, or next of kin who is a member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list for a serious injury or illness. This leave is only available to care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness during a single 12-month period.
      
      
4. Employee Requirements Under FMLA
   1. When the need for FMLA leave is foreseeable, the Employee must provide 30-day advance notice of the need for leave to the Human Resources office. If the need for leave is not foreseeable 30 days in advance, the Employee must provide notice as soon as practicable. FMLA related forms, including a Notice of Rights and Responsibilities, are available through the Human Resources office.
   2. Upon notifying Human Resources of the need to initiate FMLA leave, the Employee is required to submit a medical certification to support the request for leave to care for a child, spouse, parent, or next of kin with a serious health condition or leave necessitated by the employee's own health condition. The certification is due within fifteen (15) calendar days from the date upon which the certification is requested by the College.
   3. In the event that a medical certification is incomplete, the College will provide the Employee with a reasonable opportunity to cure the deficiency and will state in writing what additional information is necessary to make the certification complete.
   4. The College may require a second or third medical opinion at its expense in the event that the validity of the medical certification is doubted. The College may also require recertification of any serious health condition no more often than every 30 days unless the condition will last for more than 30 days. For conditions certified as having a minimum duration of more than 30 days, the College may request a recertification when the specified period has passed or every six (6) months. The College may in any event require recertification where an employee requests an extension of leave, the circumstances described in the previous certification have changed significantly, or if the College receives information that casts doubt on the Employee's stated reason for the absence or the continuing validity of the certification.
   5. Employee is required to follow the College's attendance reporting procedures or to work with his/her manager to establish a reasonable absence reporting schedule during the period of leave. The reporting under this provision should be limited to advisement on the employee's planned return to work date. In no event shall the reporting be less than monthly.
   6. A 30-day advance notice, if practicable, where the necessity for leave is foreseeable is required.
   7. The 12 or 26 weeks of leave includes any paid exception time, including sick/personal/ vacation/floating holiday time the employee has accrued.
   8. FMLA leave will run concurrently with workers compensation leave, short term disability, and any other types of approved leaves of absences as permitted by law.
   9. An employee who requests intermittent or reduced leave must, if the necessity for leave is foreseeable based on planned medical treatment, make a reasonable effort to schedule the treatment so as not to disrupt the operations of the College unduly, subject to the approval of the health care provider, and is required to obtain a certification of the dates on which treatment is expected to be given and the duration of treatment. Intermittent leave may not exceed a total of 12 weeks over a 12 month period.
      
      
5. Benefits to the Employee
   1. Health and dental insurance will continue during the leave period at the same level and under the same conditions as if the employee had continued to work.
   2. Employees are required to use their allotments of paid vacation time and sick time concurrently with any approved period of FMLA to the extent that such paid time is available unless otherwise stipulated in an applicable Collective Bargaining Agreement.
   3. Seniority (if applicable) shall continue to accrue for the 12 or 26 weeks allowed under Family and Medical Leave.
   4. If both spouses work for the college and are eligible employees, their aggregate entitlement to leave is 12 weeks, except for their own disabilities and/or the care of a child or spouse with a serious health condition, or 26 weeks for military caregiver leave.
   5. An employee who takes leave under this policy will be able to return to the same position or a position with equivalent status, pay, benefits and other employment conditions. Family and Medical Leave will not result in a loss of any benefit which was accrued before the leave commenced.

Last updated: July 2017