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Full-time employees who do not qualify for a leave of absence under the Family & Medical Leave Act may consider a non-FMLA medical or personal leave of absence.
Reasons that a leave may not be covered under the FMLA include:
- The employee does not yet meet the eligibility requirements for FMLA.
- The employee’s reason for taking leave of absence does not fall within the qualifying reasons under the FMLA.
- The employee has already exhausted the full 12-weeks of FMLA entitlement but is not yet able to return to work.
A non-FMLA leave of absence may be requested for either medical leave (for the employee’s own health condition) or for personal leave. Medical leave must be supported by documentation, which is treated as confidential and viewed only by the HR leaves coordinator. Personal leave must be explained on the request form. Both types of non-FMLA leave are discretionary and require supervisor and cabinet level approval. If approved, it is with the intent that the employee will be able to return to their position at the conclusion of their leave. However, this type of leave does not have the same Federal protections as FMLA.
Recording Time Off
During leaves of absence, employees are required to use their available accrued time prior to taking unpaid time off. Personal time should not be used; it is only a placeholder, not an additional bank of hours. When used, it comes out of the sick time balance. Employees must be in a paid status (either working or using accrued time off) both the day before and the day after a holiday or college break in order to receive holiday pay.
Benefits
The college will continue to pay the employer portion of health insurance premiums during an approved medical leave of absence for up to twelve (12) consecutive months. Employees on any other type of leave without pay will be responsible for full payment of all insurance premiums (employer and employee share) if the employee desires to continue coverage while on leave.
An employee who fails to return to work after their unpaid leave has been exhausted or expires will be required to reimburse the college for its share of health plan premiums, unless the reason the employee does not return is due to:
- Circumstance beyond the employee’s control; or
- The continuation, recurrence or onset of a serious health condition of the employee or the employee’s family member, or a serious injury or illness of a covered service member, that would otherwise entitle the employee to leave under FMLA.
For either reason indicated above, the employee must present certification from the health care provider stating that either the employee’s health or the health of the family member is in such a serious condition that returning to work in the future is not possible.
Failure to provide such certification within thirty (30) days following a request will enable the college to recover heath benefit premiums paid during the period of unpaid leave. If the employee is receiving payment under the employer’s short-term disability plan, the repayment requirement does not apply.
For purposes of the requirement to reimburse the college for not returning from unpaid leave, an employee must return to work for at least thirty (30) calendar days to be considered having returned to work. An employee who transfers directly from taking leave to retirement, or who retires during the first thirty (30) days after returning to work will be considered as having returned to work.
Return to Work
Failure to return to work on the designated return date following an authorized leave may subject the employee to disciplinary action up to and including termination. For a medical leave, an employee must present certification from their health care provider indicating that the employee is able to return to their job duties and list any restrictions, if applicable.
For more information or to obtain a Non-FMLA Leave of Absence Request Form, submit a ticket to Human Resources.